Congratulations have poured in from celebrities including Catherine Zeta Jones and Luke Evans, as well as from many businesses, for the winners of the Child of Wales Awards 2020.
There are twelve categories of awards which recognise inspiring young people and organisations whom have demonstrated remarkable courage and achievements.
The Child of Wales winners would normally be unveiled at a star-studded awards ceremony at the Celtic Manor. The event, originally scheduled for April, has twice been postponed due to COVID-19. The organisers now hope to run the event in April 2021, but they did not want to keep the children waiting any longer to celebrate their achievement.
The event had been rescheduled to take place today on Friday, October 30. Everyone who should have been attending, including celebrities, sponsors and supporters following the awards, have been encouraged to raise a glass to acknowledge the achievements of the winners.
The families and young people were told of their achievement on Thursday, October 29. They will all be treated to a holiday at Bluestone National Park Resort with their families when they are able to visit and will be attending a rearranged gala awards evening now taking place on April 9, 2021 (COVID-19 permitting).
Two celebrities to offer their support for the winners, and the Child of Wales Awards as a whole, were Hollywood A-listers Catherine Zeta Jones and Luke Evans who both recorded a video paying tribute to the children and supporting the event for use on the night.
The video announcement of the winners can be found here: https://youtu.be/f3fHJb-o-fs
The organisers also again thanked the event’s sponsors for their continued support, which has also allowed it to make a substantial donation to the three charities it is supporting now, despite the annual event being delayed.
The Child of Wales has donated £5,000 to each of the charities it is raising money for in recognition of the challenging times they are enduring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Its charities are: Teenage Cancer Trust, Dreams & Wishes and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
The Child of Wales is backed by Bluestone National Park Resort, Trade Centre Wales and Bidfood. The sponsors are: 1192 Laser & Beauty Clinic, Acuity Law, Andrew Rees & Sons Butchers, Barclays, Bibendum Wine, Boom Cymru, Castell Howell Foods, DWJ Group, DWJ Wealth Management, Gower College Swansea, Iceland Foods, Joe’s Ice Cream, MGY, Mitre Linen, Princes Gate, Principality Building Society, RedKite Solicitors, Sytner BMW, Thomas Recruitment Group, Valley Mill and Wolfestone.
A number of other companies are helping fund the support packages for the winners, funding their stay at the Celtic Manor and Bluestone. These are: Penguin Recruitment, AB Glass, Work Wales, Gallagher, Seren Global Media, Holder Mathias Architects, Blue Tiger Marketing, Bullock, Storm technologies and MyConcern.
Blanche Sainsbury, the founder of the event, said:
“The past six months, we have been forced to cancel our showcase event twice, it has been very frustrating for many reasons. But one of the biggest has been that we have been unable to unveil the finalists and tell their wonderful stories.
“When it became clear that the event would again be cancelled, we took the decision that we could wait no longer to showcase the incredible stories of the young people we have been working with and who deserve recognition. So, we are doing just that today: we are revealing them as our winners.
“It is still very much our intention that they have their moment in the spotlight; our winners deserve that and we also want to showcase the work of our charities, while hopefully raising even more money for them, and thank our sponsors who have shown incredible patience and supported us through thick and thin. And I promise that, when it does go ahead, the long wait will be worth it. The evening will be amazing. We intend to finally deliver what we started and what so many people have worked so hard to make a very special event.”
