Former Wakefield College student named finalist for Pride of Britain Awards
A former Wakefield College student has been named the Regional ITV Calendar North Fundraiser of the Year for the Pride of Britain Awards, in recognition of her incredible efforts raising money for charities that have supported her through various cancer diagnoses.
Kimberley Hattersley-Barton’s Life With The Ribbon fundraising project hosted two charity galas raising more than £40,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Beads of Courage UK and When You Wish Upon a Star.
ITV News Calendar congratulated Kimberley as one of the regional winners of the Pride of Britain Awards, surprising her on live television with a trophy.
She is one of 17 who will attend the final award ceremony, taking place later this year in London, where she’ll represent the region and compete for the overall Pride of Britain Award.
Kimberley said: “I feel honoured to be a qualified finalist for the Pride of Britain Awards and privileged to be amongst so many other incredible fundraisers.
"At the beginning of the year, I was recovering from my fifth cancer surgery and having speech therapy, so this accomplishment is a reminder to myself that anything is possible and to remain hopeful during difficult times.
"It would mean the absolute world to me if I won the overall award.”
The most recent Life With The Ribbon charity gala took place at Unity Hall in Wakefield earlier this year to celebrate five years of remission for Kimberley.
At 13 months old, Kimberley was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma. Since then, she has been diagnosed with a further four cancers and undergone multiple surgeries and treatments including chemotherapy.
Now 27-years-old, she visits the hospital three times a week to receive dialysis treatment and still faces ongoing, long-term health issues including kidney, ovarian and heart failure.
Kimberley said: “Initially, I began sharing my personal experience online to help spread awareness about cancer diagnoses and build a community during the Covid-19 lockdown.
"I then decided to extend this to a fundraising project and host charity galas to raise money for the charities who have helped me throughout my various diagnoses, as I know first-hand the impact these charities have.
"This was my way of giving back to others like me.”