THIRTEEN-year-old Zara Salim from Skipton has received a national volunteer award from Macmillan Cancer Support in recognition of raising more than £3,700 for the charity.

Zara received The UK Young Macmillan Champion Award at the charity’s Volunteers’ Award Conference in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

When Zara’s granddad was diagnosed with cancer last April, she was motivated to raise money for Macmillan by selling off her old toys. She aimed to raise £150 and, when people started to hear about her efforts through her mum’s Facebook page, she quickly hit her target.

But Zara didn’t stop there.

She realised that by stepping up her fundraising activities, she could make an even bigger difference to people affected by cancer. She organised a coffee morning in Skipton, which proved to be a huge success and raised more than £500.

By this point Zara was on a roll, so she decided to arrange an auction night too. She wrote letters to local businesses and was overwhelmed with the generous donations she received, leading to the event raising an astonishing £2,000.

Zara continues to inspire others by sharing her story in the community and at school.

On hearing she had won the award, Zara said: “All this has led up to something really big.

"It makes me feel really good inside knowing I’m helping people.”

The UK Young Macmillan Champion Award recognises exceptional volunteers aged 25 and under, who are advocates of Macmillan’s work, raise large amounts of money, use entrepreneurial initiatives to support Macmillan, care for others with cancer or who are living with cancer themselves and inspire others.

Paul McCavana, head of services for Macmillan in the North of England, said: “Macmillan was set up by a volunteer more than 100 years ago, and our volunteers are crucial in helping us to ensure no one has to face cancer alone.

“We wanted to use our volunteers’ award conference to say a well-deserved ‘thank you’ to all the people who give their time to help us. We also wanted to thank Zara for her incredible efforts to help people affected by cancer.

“At Macmillan, we have a variety of volunteering roles, and we always like to hear from people that might be interested in helping us out because whether it’s minutes or months, hours or days, whatever time you can give really will matter. ”

Visit macmillan.org.uk/volunteer, e-mail volunteering@macmillan.org.uk or call 0300 1000200 for more details about volunteering for the charity.

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