DROITWICH’S MND Warrior John Adams has been named a finalist in the ‘Outstanding Commitment’ category of the prestigious GoCardless JustGiving Awards for his dedication to fund-raising.
He was selected by a panel which included radio DJ Rickie Haywood-Williams, actress Angela Griffin, long-standing fund-raiser, famous for wearing a charity shop outfit every day for one year, Caroline Jones and JustGiving’s general manager Pascale Harvie.
The 79-year-old was nominated by the public after he raised more than £24,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND), a condition he, himself, was diagnosed with six years ago.
His most recent challenge was to complete seven miles in seven days on his scooter around Droitwich, collecting donations as he went.
John said: “In 2014 I took part in the ice bucket challenge as we all did and donated money to MND, something I had never heard of before.
“Yet just three years I was diagnosed with MND and given a prognosis of just 12 to 18 months to live.
“After getting that devastating diagnosis I decided to dedicate every day I was blessed with to work hard to promote awareness and raise money to find a cure for this horrendous disease, to ensure no one else suffers in the future.”
‘Honoured to be short-listed’
He added he felt very honoured to be nominated as a finalist as there were so many people raising funds for their chosen charities.
This is the 11th year of the JustGiving Awards and the judges agreed this year’s event would be an incredibly emotional yet truly inspiring evening.
From more than 13,000 nominations, the judges worked hard to shortlist 21 inspiring finalists – three for each of the seven awards categories.
Pascale Harvie, JustGiving’s president and general manager, said: “Our fund-raisers and crowdfunders are amazing and whilst they don’t do what they do for praise and recognition, every single person like John deserves it.
“The ceremony is a magical evening but most importantly it’s a moment for us at JustGiving to thank, formally recognise and celebrate the individuals, groups and charities who have done extraordinary things in the interest of others.”
How you can vote for John
Standard readers can vote for John by visiting page.justgiving.com/awardsvoting2023 and scrolling down to the ‘Outstanding Commitment’ category.
Seven winners, along with JustGiving’s Charity of the Year will be announced at a special ceremony at London’s Roundhouse on September 25.
Winners will be presented with their official trophy by well-known faces from the world of celebrity and sport.
Previous JustGiving Award winners include Max Woosey, crowned 2022 Young Fund-raiser of the Year for camping outside for hundreds of nights in memory of his neighbour and raising funds for North Devon Hospice.
Three dads walking were awarded Fund-raising Team of the Year for raising significant awareness for suicide prevention and funds for Papyrus and the late Dame Deborah James’ family received a special recognition award after she created wide-scale awareness of bowel cancer and its symptoms and raised millions of pounds for the Bowelbabe Fund.
Pat Phelan, MD of UK and Ireland and chief customer officer at GoCardless, added they were proud to recognise the finalists and everyone nominated for this year’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards and were also grateful to all the donors who supported them.
“By combining the energy and enthusiasm of fund-raisers like John with the generosity of the nation, truly amazing things can happen.”
