The Diana Award is the only charity set up in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales and her belief that young people have the power to change the world. Their Anti-Bullying work encourages change in attitudes and behaviours for young people by young people, their Mentoring schemes guide change for some of the UK’s most vulnerable young people and their flagship Award programme recognises the young people driving selfless change across the world. That all leads us to say that we’re delighted that Empower team member Alice Rath has been named a recipient of a Diana Award for 2020. As Alice says when she heard the news that she would be receiving a Diana Award: “To be recognised as a young leader creating and sustaining positive change in the memory of Princess Diana is honestly unbelievable.” Ben Matthews, Co-Founder of Empower, had this to say about Alice’s achievement: “Alice has shown her enthusiasm and expertise in her work here at Empower, but to be recognised in such a way for her voluntary work and use that to help the lives of so many others is just fantastic. She truly is an excellent young leader and I’m sure will be helping many more people in the years to come.” Read on to find out more about the award and the fantastic achievements by Alice. What is the Diana Award? The Award is the most prestigious accolade a young person aged 9-25 years can receive for their social action or humanitarian work. This is the longest running award for young people through a retrospective nomination process only. Young people do not work towards the award, rather demonstrate their suitability through their actions, without any expectation of reward. 2020 recipient – Alice Rath Alice Rath, a Digital Marketing Consultant at Empower, received a Diana Award on 1 July for 9 years voluntary service supporting young people in healthcare and the charity sector. After her own experience as a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Alice has been working to support young people in healthcare and the charity sector as a whole through her positions as GOSH Patient Governor, NHS Youth Forum member and Crohn’s and Colitis UK Trustee. Her work has led to a much more inclusive and tailored environment for young people in healthcare, whilst smoothing the transition into adult care. Through advice sessions, fundraising and mentoring, Alice has dramatically improved the experience of teenage patients, ensuring their needs are considered by key decision makers. To read about the other incredible work from young people across the world, read the 2020 roll of honour. Congratulations Alice!
