A young girl from Northern Ireland has been named Young Person of the Year at a UK-wide ceremony for her fundraising efforts after her dad's death.
Ellie Smyth, 11, from Garvagh in Co Derry, sadly lost her dad in a road traffic collision in February 2019 when she was just eight-years-old.
The Air Ambulance Northern Ireland were tasked to help Ellie's dad, Peter, but he sadly could not be saved.
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Since then, Ellie, alongside her mum Caroline, and her older brother, Harry, have become supporters of Air Ambulance NI, supporting fundraising events, volunteering, and organising their own fundraisers.
Following in her older brother's footsteps, when she reached her final year at primary school, Ellie decided she wanted to lead her own event. She hosted a party in honour of what would have been her dad's 50th year, because "he loved a party."
The event, called Ellie's Ball, was a huge success and raised £16,000 for the Air Ambulance. This funded almost three days for the service, likely to help six future patients.
An auction held on the night also raised almost £9,000 from 18 lots.
Ellie attended the recent Air Ambulance UK Awards of Excellence for 2022 in Birmingham, where she won Young Person of the Year.
The 11-year-old was delighted with her award win. She said: "I was so honoured to be nominated for the Air Ambulance UK Awards. It was an amazing experience to go along, and I had so much fun.
"I am so glad I won. Air Ambulance NI is a very special charity to us, they do amazing work. We will do more fundraising to help save more people."
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