Unsung Heroes of 2020 Unmasked in the National Lottery Awards

It was always going to be tough sitting on the judge’s panel for the National Lottery Awards this year, because it’s been an exceptional year with people stepping up all over the country to offer help where it may be needed. From checking in on elderly neighbours to being a keyworker, the nominations flew in with a record-breaking 5,000 people on the table as worthy winners. But there could only be 8 winners, and the first award went to Leanne Pero in the Health Award category.

At the age of 30, Leanne was diagnosed with breast cancer and at the time, she barely heard of any other young black women with the disease what with it being considered a taboo topic within her community. “It was such a shock. I felt like the only girl of my age in the world with cancer,” says Leanne, now 35, from Peckham, south London. “I was also ashamed and blamed myself. There’s a myth that cancer is not a ‘black disease.’”

After her battle, Leanne decided to…

…create a photo exhibition of other survivors bearing their scars and her awareness has resulted in a National Lottery award and £3K to go towards her Black Women Rising organisation.

Community Award

Julie Morrison was 37 years old and pregnant with her first child when she and her husband were told her baby had no heartbeat. Now 40, Julie says the pain of losing a baby to stillbirth is something you will carry with you for the rest of your life. Part of a charity that offers free UK weekends away for bereaved parents, Julie decided to set up a new phone and online counselling and trauma therapy service when the current pandemic forced the retreats to close, and even went as far as to help one grieving family organise a funeral.

Julie, 40, says: “When one mum told me she would not be able to settle until she put her child to rest, I called the hospital and funeral directors, and went with her to dress the baby. It meant so much to her and it helped my own grief to give another parent that support. We’ve had lots of calls during lockdown. The isolation makes it even harder to cope with their emotions, but we were there for them.”

Environment Award

One morning after Dom Warren, an electrician, dropped his kids off at school, he realised there were children going into the school hungry and decided to do something about it! At first, he asked friends and neighbours to drop off any unwanted or surplus food to him at a car park so they could take it to the local food bank and five years on, the husband-and-wife duo along with an army of volunteers, are providing more food to venerable people through “Dom’s Food Mission,” after quitting his job as an electrician.

Dom says: “We feed everyone – women and children in hostels, refugees, schools, the elderly. Some of their stories keep me awake at night. We’re just a mum and dad from Hastings, but we are saving lives every day. Without those parcels, I’m not sure some people would have survived. Many of them have children so that idea hurts us, as parents ourselves.”

He adds: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we were able to feed so many more people. Good food goes in the bin every day and it doesn’t have to. Our next step is to take this mission across the country – and even the world!”

It’s thanks to National Lottery players like yourself that £30 million is raised for good causes across the country – every week! From the bonus ball to EuroMillions, Set for Life to life-changing jackpot games, every penny raised goes a long way to helping those in need.

Source: “Heroes Unmasked”. The Mirror. November 28, 2020.