Jemima and Isabel- Winners of the Rising Star award
At James Hopkins Trust, we are extremely proud of the bank of volunteers we have on hand to help us. From cake baking, helping us maintain our respite centre to volunteering their time at our events. We appreciate every single one of them but I’m sure many will agree that there is something extra special about our young volunteers.
Meet Jemima and Isabel. At just 11 and 10, Jemima and Isabel choose to spend their free time by running stalls at our events, helping at supermarket bucket collections and even running their own fundraisers in aid of us. It’s amazing for children of these age to opt to do this but even more so when you understand what the girls face at home.
Jemima and Isabel have a 4 year old brother called Louie. Louie was born with complex medical needs, requiring 24/7 nursing care. He receives respite from us at the James Hopkins Trust.. It wasn’t long after Louie first joined us that the girls decided to join their Nan, Lynn, on the volunteer team. Choosing to spend their precious time alone, away from their brother raising money to help other families in Gloucestershire with life-threatened and life-limited young children.
We nominated Jemima and Isabel for the Rising Star award at Gloucestershire Volunteer Awards 2026 and we are pleased to say that they won! As part of the awards ceremony, the girls were interviewed which we are so pleased to share with you below…
Can you tell us what you did to win this award?
We have raised money for our brother’s respite centre. We have raised money with bucket collections, fairs and stalls at school fetes.
Did anyone help you along the way?
Our baby brother motivates us to raise lots of money so that he and all the other children supported by James Hopkins Trust can enjoy their respite.
What are you most proud of?
Definitely making Christmas really special by being elves in Santa’s Grotto to raise money for the James Hopkins Trust.
What do you want to do next?
We want to keep working hard, raising lots of money to make sure all the children attending the James Hopkins Trust can have the best time.
What’s your favourite hobby (when you’re not busy being amazing)?
Jemima: I love playing football, and spending time playing with my baby brother, Louie.
Isabel: My hobby is horseriding, but I also love playing with Louie.
Charlene, Fundraiser here at James Hopkins trust says…
‘Jemima and Isabel first started volunteering for James Hopkins Trust in 2023. Their little brother Louie joined our JHT family and started receiving one to one nursing respite care on a weekly basis. After seeing how happy their brother Louie was here, they wanted to join their Nan on the volunteering team.
They started coming along to bucket collections with their Nan and talking to members of the public about their brother and how special James Hopkins Trust is.’They always manage to increase the money raised at bucket collections from £100 up to £300 on some occasions.
These two little girls have gone through some truly tough times with their little brother Louie being born with significant complex medical needs, but they have come through everything with the biggest smiles on their faces and are truly inspirational to other children overcoming these changes to their lives but also us adults.
They also give us many weekends during the festive period to dress up as elves and volunteer at our Santa’s Grotto. They transform into special little characters to interact with other children and adults visiting Santa to ensure they have a truly magical experience.
Last Summer they approached their school and told them all about JHT and how we help their family and asked to have a stall at their school fete to raise money for us.
They spent a very long time preparing for this and spending their own money on supplies to make keyrings, bracelets and sweet treats. They went along early to set up a gazebo they had borrowed and made their table and stall look super inviting. They did a super job and raised a whopping £232.13 with the help from their friend on the day they they had recruited.
These 2 girls have gone through some truly tough times with their little brother Louie being born with significant complex medical needs, but they have come through everything with the biggest smiles on their faces and are truly inspirational to other children overcoming these changes to their lives but also us adults.’
Well done Jemima and Isabel for winning the Rising Star award! What an achievement!
If yourself or anyone you know would like to volunteer for us James Hopkins Trust, please email us at fundraising@jameshopkinstrust.org.uk