Stephen's Story

19 year old teenager fighting 'incurable' cancer. Raised over £560,000 in a year. Motivational speaker and happiest guy alive. Feel free to follow my journey!! All my main updates come from my Facebook page, but you can also follow me on Twitter,Instagram, and subscribe to my Youtube Channel too!! I now even have a brand new website too- ooooooh!

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National Diversity Awards- Friday 26th September I didn't stay in London to attend these awards as I was returning home to go to the Pride of Birmingham Awards. With all the events that had been taking place this was the first time there was a clash of dates – I’m surprised it hadn't happened sooner. However, Chris attended and proudly collected the award (photo below) on behalf of Stephen. Here’s an extract from the press release for the Awards . Best of British Diversity Honoured at National Diversity Awards “Role models and charities were honoured nationwide at Friday's ceremony at The Hurlingham Club, London, and rewarding Britain’s most inspirational people for their fight against inequality. Over 21,000 nominations and votes were received this year paying tribute to those from under-represented backgrounds who have dedicated their lives to enhancing the equality agenda. Another highlight of the evening came when Stephen Sutton MBE was honoured with a Special Recognition Award, which was collected by his older brother Chris Sutton. There was not a dry eye in the house as guests were reminded of Stephen's courageous efforts for raising over £4 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust.’ Pride of Birmingham Awards –Friday 26th September The quotes below are from David Brookes,Editor of the Birmingham Mail and summed up perfectly what the night was about – a celebration of all that is great in the West Midlands. "The Birmingham Mail launched these awards as a way of saying thank you to individuals who do remarkable things . It was an opportunity to “bring them out of the shadows and into the limelight; and to recognise their achievements and inspire others.” “It’s fair to say that the people of Birmingham are,by nature, a modest lot.But there’s a particular group of individuals whose work, actions or courage is of such importance that their names should be known and their endeavors celebrated.” When the plans were drawn up for the Awards it became clear that Stephen could win every category, such was his courage, compassion and determination. He had made such a huge difference.As nominations flooded in, awards organisers agonised over which category to place him in. So a decision was made and the headline award was re-named in Stephen’s honour and this will continue for years to come. So in tribute to Stephen there is now the Stephen Sutton Pride of Birmingham Award which recognises those who have been inspirational. It was an honour to present this award, together with Jason Manford to nine year old Joshua Jackson. Joshua is fighting cancer for the second time but his determination has been inspirational and he has raised £27000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he receives his treatment. Despite his illness Joshua is still full of smiles and wants to help others with his fundraising. Stephen would have been immensely proud having the premier award named in his honour and also that it was awarded to such a worthy winner. Conservative Party Conference - Sunday 28th September Then it was off to the Conservative Party conference for an early morning meeting on the Monday to do the same as I had at the Labour Party conference the week before.

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Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments about Stephen following the announcement yesterday of how the 5 million raised for Teenage Cancer Trust would be spent. Stephen had been asked where he would he would like the money to be invested and this was reflected in the spending plans. I especially liked the funding for Stephen Sutton Scholarships for the Post graduate Certificate in Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Care in recognition of Stephen’s ambition to have a medical career. It was a busy day Tuesday with this announcement so I didn’t get chance to update about the National Lottery Awards 2014. As you all know Fixers won best UK Charity project. So last Friday (12th September) the National Lottery Awards 2014 were hosted at Pinewood Studios, Buckingham. The night was all about celebrating the amazing work of the 2014 National Lottery Awards finalists. They were all truly inspirational and it was such an enjoyable and unforgettable evening. I got to speak to so many amazing people from all across the UK. Awards were given for: -Best Arts Project -Best Education Project -Best environment Project -Best Health Project -Best Heritage Project -Best Sport Project -Best Charity / Voluntary Project The final award was a special achievement award for Stephen for his work as a Fixer with the Good Gestures Campaign.There's a photo of the award and of myself,Chris and Stephen's friends who were all involved with the Good Gestures Day. It was such an honour to accept this award on his behalf .Good Gestures Day was so close to his heart as it embraced the values of volunteering, learning, positivity, team work and friendship. It was about simple things; a high five, fist bump, a hug, a passing smile; all random acts of kindness spreading happiness and positivity. The National Good Gestures Day is now going to be an annual event run by Fixers in Stephen’s honour. What an amazing night; both the awards ceremony and the after show party. Thank you to everyone involved in making the night such a success and for making us all feel so special. The event was televised and is on BBC 1 this Friday at 22.45 so you can see the brilliant projects that were celebrated throughout the night and the Special Achievement Award for Stephen.

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News

Congratulations to Fixers A big thank you to everyone who voted for @FixersUK in the National Lottery Awards – they have won Best UK Charity! Stephen got involved with Fixers to make his Good Gestures Day in 2013 to spread happiness and positivity. Then in May this year, along with 320 friends and supporters, he took part in the first National Good Gestures Day. The National Good Gestures Day is now going to be an annual event run by Fixers in his honour. I want to say a big well done to all the 13,200 young people who have already become Fixers, like Stephen! You all deserve this wonderful recognition for doing such good things to help others. You can read more about the award – and how a surprise guest announced that Fixers had won – on their website http://bit.ly/1rlgIIj via Stephen's story http://bit.ly/1rlgIIj

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A quick update - the family fun day is still going ahead today despite the rain.The two marquees are up and the live music is set to start at 12 - there will also be acoustic sets throughout the day in the bar. There's so many people who have been involved in organising today's event - come along and support them,have a fun time and raise some money for Stephen's Story.

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Hi all, just a quick reminder about the charity fun day taking place The Drill Inn tomorrow, 12 til 8pm. Fingers crossed the rain holds off a day longer! If it doesn’t stay entirely dry however, this year there is a second marquee in which the bands will play, so you don’t have to worry about getting wet to enjoy the music. Hopefully see lots of you tomorrow!

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Sunday 3rd August - Last night of the Proms –finale of Lytham Proms festival weekend Everyone who knows me well will know that I am a massive fan of singer, actor and West End mega star, Michael Ball. As soon as the tickets went on sale for Lytham proms I booked as I knew that Michael was one of the stars performing on the Sunday night. So tiCkets booked, I just had to wait until August 3rd. Fast forward to April and Jason Manford visited Stephen in hospital. We were all sitting around Stephen’s bed chatting and then somehow the conversation got on to favourite celebrities, and of course mine was Michael Ball. I’d forgotten that Jason had starred alongside him in Sweeney Todd which I’d been to see twice, although not when Jason was playing the part of Pirelli (sorry Jason!!) What I didn’t know was that while we were chatting Jason had messaged Michael without me seeing, and the next thing I knew I was chatting to Michael Ball. How excited was I, Stephen was laughing and referred to me “as a 13 year old meeting Harry Styles” which was probably a pretty accurate description. Anyway after chatting for a while Michael said that I could go backstage at Lytham for a hug, wow! Fast forward again to last Sunday and true to his word my mom and I went backstage for a big hug (and I got a kiss); we chatted again before the show, and I gave him one of Stephen’s wristbands. I was thrilled and couldn’t quite believe I had actually met Michael Ball. We were then shown to the VIP area to watch the show which was a lovely surprise. What a fabulous show it was and what an amazing setting. There was one brief break when the show was affected by gusts of wind and rain and that was only because The Halle Orchestra needed to protect the millions of pounds of instruments on the stage. The crowd carried on though, singing and dancing and not taking any notice of the weather; it was an incredibly joyous atmosphere. For me it automatically brought to mind the quote used in many motivational speeches “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain” and that was literally what was happening.The photo below with the couple dancing in the background perfectly captures the moment. After this short break Michael Ball was back on stage and he dedicated ‘Love Changes Everything’ to Stephen and me. He spoke of how inspirational Stephen had been and what’s more he was wearing the yellow wristband that I had given to him earlier. There was an enormous cheer from the 6000 strong audience; it was such an emotional but uplifting moment for my mom and me and for everyone in the crowds. It was such a personal tribute that meant the world to us . (you can see it on Youtube http://ift.tt/1rfoFfz ) So a huge thank you to two genuine and thoughtful gentlemen, Michael Ball and Jason Manford,for such a memorable evening xx

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Friday 1st August - Inaugural Celebrating Excellency Awards 2014 These new national awards were launched at the Living Islam Festival 2014. This festival was taking place from 31st July – Sunday 3rd August in the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside. Organised by the Islamic Society of Britain the awards are unique as never before has a British Muslim organisation celebrated the work of key individuals and organisations across Britain. The Awards held in collaboration with Islamic Relief were to recognize the hard work, bravery and sheer good will of people .Many of us will have witnessed the tremendous work and initiatives undertaken tirelessly by ordinary people within communities across Britain. Often the contributions and sacrifices are understated and not given the recognition they deserve despite having a positive impact on the lives of millions of people. I was invited to attend this event and took Chris (Stephen’s brother) along with me as Stephen had been nominated in two categories which were: Young Person’s Achievement – an award to recognise a young person in society who strives to show initiative,care and determination in achieving their goal,whether that be academically, through raising awareness campaigns ,charity fundraising or the arts. Courage in the Face of Adversity – an award for an individual who has experienced first -hand defeat known suffering, struggle and loss but has managed to orientate their way out of the depths. The individual shows a deep-rooted appreciation,sensitivity and understanding of life . Stephen won the award for Courage in the Face of Adversity which was sponsored by the Ministry of Defence. The award as you can see from the pictures is stunning; it was designed by Anita Harris Art Pottery. The actual design and colours were inspired by the vibrant colours used by the Islamic Society of Great Britain. The living Islam tent is included on the disc to create the link between the Islamic Society and the Living Islam Festival where the awards were launched and each award is unique as everyone is hand painted. Yet another amazing event that Chris and I were honoured to attend. It certainly makes you appreciate the wonderful people that live in our midst everywhere and inspire us to achieve great things. There was such an array of achievements and talents from different faiths, cultures and backgrounds so congratulations to everyone who was nominated, shortlisted and the eventual winners. Thank you to everyone who we met on the day and who made us feel so welcome. Special thanks to Hifsa (the Awards Director) who went to considerable lengths to contact me and inform me about the nominations for Stephen - I'm so pleased that you did x

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South & City College Birmingham Coast2Coast Challenge

Sunday 28th July Chasewater Country Park 5k Fun Run for Stephen Following on from the fantastic success of the 2013 Fun Run for Stephen, Forward Action Burntwood (aka FAB) promised Stephen that the 2014 would be an event to remember; they lived up to their promise. Hop, skip, jump, moonwalk........do whatever you like to complete the 5k course. The emphasis was on the taking part, having fun and raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust. What a feel-good event it was! Yellow bows were donated by Wild Orchid at Swan Island, Burntwood so instead of arrows marking the route it was follow the yellow ribbons. Race participants wore fancy dress or something yellow. Yellow ribbons were painted on faces, hands and arms and even the doggies who took part were wearing yellow bows. The sun shone and it was an amazing day, everyone involved should be so proud of themselves. So massive thanks to all the race participants, Chasewater staff, volunteers FAB trustees and volunteers and anyone else that I’ve missed. All I had to do for this event was turn up and complete the course, and enjoy the thumbs up to Stephen and his amazing legacy. There’s some fabulous photos on the Forward Action Burntwood page which are definitely worth a look. Rather than me doing all the talking I’ll leave you with other peoples comments which hopefully they won’t mind me doing: Claire Yates: “Fantastic day at Chasewater yesterday for Race For Stephen. Stephen would have been so proud at the amount of people who took part to honour his legacy, but most of all for the amount of money that was raised for Teenage Cancer Trust. Stephen you were a true inspiration and will remain a legend for many years to come, especially in the hearts of people in Burntwood”. Nick Foort: “I would like to thank everyone involved in organizing yesterday's Stephen Sutton Fun Run. Encouragement and good will was everywhere on and off the course. My family and I including Alfie the dog travelled down from the North West to participate and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I will really hope this becomes a regular event Thanks”. Forward Action Burntwood – 28th July “DRUM ROLL PLEASE. We have added up registration fees, sponsor money that we have received so far and donations and the total at the moment is a whopping £3,685.12 and there is still more to come!! Thank you so much!!!” Then it was home, a quick shower, change of clothes and over to Birmingham......................... Coast to Coast Bike Challenge – Celebration Ride Coventry to Digbeth South and City College Birmingham undertook a gruelling cycle challenge to raise £50,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust and The Steve Staunton Foundation, two charities that strive to support young people and improve lives. The challenge saw a group of cyclists pedal around 800 miles over 8 days to seven coastlines around England, Ireland and Wales. There were around 15 core riders who completed the journey and each day they rode in support of a young person going through a cancer journey; the Irish stage supported The Steve Staunton Foundation. The final 30 mile leg of the journey from the Ricoh Arena to the College’s Digbeth campus was opened up to anyone interested in supporting the team and raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust. It was also called the Celebration ride and was dedicated to Stephen. I’ve included a link to the website so that you can see the photos and video footage of the challenge; it was media students from the college who documented this epic journey. At times it’s humorous, it’s emotional but what shines through is the camaraderie between not only the cyclists but the support team and everyone who made this challenge possible. Despite the fact that many of the cyclists had been involved in a number of cycle challenges over the years this one was particularly testing and the riders pushed themselves through incredible pain barriers, their thoughts with the young person they were cycling for that day. In addition the challenge took place over what was arguably the hottest week of the year. What an amazing group of people and I have so much admiration for what they achieved. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you all via Stephen's story http://ift.tt/V4v7ft

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Thursday 24th July High Sheriff of the West Midlands Summer Garden Party I was asked to attend this with a representative from Teenage Cancer Trust. It was hosted by the High Sheriff of the West Midlands – Dr Tim Watts and his wife Mrs June Watts in the beautiful setting of Hagley Hall ,Worcestershire .What a magnificent evening this was; from the welcome reception in the impressive gardens to the variety of entertainment that had been carefully chosen for the event. Part of the evening was dedicated to the High Sheriff’s ‘Medal of Excellence – Inspiring Others’ which recognizes young individuals whose actions in the their local communities have inspired and helped others. Nominations are put forward by the Lord Mayors and Mayors from the seven mayoral regions within the West Midlands. I was honoured to accept a posthumous award for Stephen. I was presented with the Medal of Excellence and Certificate from the High Sheriff, Dr Tim Watts who was also responsible for nominating Stephen for the award. A generous cheque donation of £5000 for Teenage Cancer Trust was also gratefully received. Congratulations also to the other deserving young people who were presented with medals and certificates. I met some wonderful people;one of them was the inspirational 'blind Dave Heeley' who is a nationally recognized charity stalwart. Dave, like Stephen did inspires others through his motivational speaking and the challenges he has encountered in his life have given him an extraordinary strength .His enthusiasm for life sparks emotion in any audience, and leaves you with the feeling that nothing is impossible. Stephen had great respect for Dave’s incredible achievements and it was evident that these feelings were reciprocated. What a memorable event this was so thank you for the invite and for the warm hospitality :-)

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Friday 18th July ‘Rave4Life’ This was posted to Stephen’s page by Midland Breakz but not all of you may have seen it. Breakdown head honchos Andy Harrison and Pete O’Donnell raised £1500 for Teenage Cancer Trust by organizing Rave4Life in memory of Stephen .The event was held at Silks nightclub in Cannock – a venue that Stephen had been to on numerous occasions. To quote Andy and Pete “the night was bubbling and every reveler attending had a great evening helping to raise cash for such a worthy cause”. Thanks to everyone involved in organizing the event and to those who attended and made it such a success. Monday 21st July Teenage Cancer Trust Offices London This was the first time I had been to the Teenage Cancer Trust Head Office in London. I was shown around the various departments and it was lovely to be able to put faces to names and say hello in person to everyone. There were newspaper cuttings about Stephen pinned to the notice boards and it was incredible to see the effect that Stephen’s Story has had on everyone there. Roger Daltrey (front man for The Who) is a patron of Teenage Cancer Trust and has helped raised millions since the charity was launched back in 1990.He heard that I was visiting the offices and asked if someone could phone him so that he could speak to me – wow !! He told me how inspirational Stephen was and was so full of praise and appreciation for everything that Stephen had achieved. I looked back at Stephen’s page and found the picture below of the two of them that was taken at the Royal Albert Hall in March and this is what Stephen posted with the photo “I also spent a bit of time talking to this guy- Roger Daltrey! I first spoke to him at the same event last year; he's genuinely such a nice guy and a complete legend!!”

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Thanks to everyone who has nominated Fixers for Best UK Charity in the National Lottery awards and nominated Stephen for the Pride of Britain and Just Giving Awards. Some of the comments and reasons for nominating Stephen have been very heart-warming. Let’s hope it will be good news for all three. Also, massive thanks to all the fundraising events for Stephen that are taking place up and down the country .I know there are so many happening that I’m not aware of so it’s lovely to read the posts on Stephen’s story of charity events or ways that you have individually raised money . A few of the local ones that I have had the privilege to attend recently are: Sunday 6th July ‘A Day For Stephen’ This took place at Burntwood Rugby Club and was advertised as a family fun day .It was certainly that! There was live entertainment, bouncy castles, inflatable slides, street dance displays, boot camp and lots of stalls. It was a fantastic atmosphere, a beautiful sunny day and everyone who attended had a fantastic time. Well done to Lisa and the team and thanks for letting me having a go on the Bouncy castle – that was so much fun :-) Friday 11th July ‘Thumbs Up Event’ Chase Terrace Technology College held a ‘Thumbs Up Event’ for Stephen. There were stalls galore, live music and the whole area was a hive of activity. There was such a friendly, welcoming feel to the event .The yellow balloon release was very touching – especially some of the messages that had been either written on the balloon or on the labels attached to them. This was followed by everyone taking part in the Conga which finished in a ‘S’ shape and the whole line then did a thumbs up for Stephen. I ‘m sure the aerial footage of this will be really impressive- can’t wait to see it Saturday 12th July ‘The American Dream’ Presented by Gig Caritas at Dudley Town Hall Formed in 2011, Gig Caritas (from the latin for charity and love) is a unique community organisation that raises money for local charities through high quality performance events where - and this is the 'unique' part - no one takes a fee. So the Chair, the West End performers, the orchestra and everyone else involved in putting together a production all give their time freely once or twice a year doing something that they love. The concert had an American theme and was a varied programme which reflected the various facets of American Music from Gospel songs to high energy Broadway musicals and classical music to stirring patriotic songs. Chris Passey (soloist) and vice chair of Gig Caritas and his wife Amy had spoken to Stephen about putting on this event .They also attended the December Charity Ball that Stephen organised and so had met him in person. The event was in Stephen’s diary as he intended to go along and give one of his talks but Lee Woodward did Stephen proud when he stood up on stage and delivered his speech. Thank you so much to all the performers who gladly gave their time and talents for free to raise money for Stephen’s chosen charity – Teenage Cancer Trust .It was a fantastic night and I’ll be looking out now for future Gig Caritas events- unfortunately I’m on holiday for the Moonlight Sinatra Big Band on Friday 10th October as that would have been a definite date in my diary. Monday 14th July Skydive For Stephen Originally this was supposed to be the world record attempt that Stephen had planned. However this has now been postponed to next year. I know from the posts and pictures on here that some of you who had signed up still went ahead with the skydive. Well done to everyone; what a fantastic achievement. I wasn’t there at this event but know how exhilarating this experience is as I did it last year with Stephen and his friends. Tuesday 15th July Erasmus Darwin School Fete Students at Erasmus Darwin grouped together and were given the task of thinking of a fundraising idea with the aim of raising as much money as possible in two hours. There was so much going on; my favourites were the Angry Birds Catapult and the brave teacher who volunteered to be splattered with various items of food. Thanks to the students who showed me how to make loom bracelets but I cheated a bit by buying a lovely yellow one that someone else had made :-) Erasmus Darwin had previously supported Stephen with a 6-a-side football tournament named the ‘Stephen Sutton’s Battle of Burntwood’.The event attracted over 350 people from across the local area which created a fantastic atmosphere .The amount raised was £714 which surpassed the target amount of £75. Well done to everyone who got involved with both the football and the school fete. Not connected with the events above but worthy of a mention is that while I was at the school one of the students told me about an Ice Skating Competition that they had competed in. I was given some photographs of ‘The Stephen Sutton Inspirational Trophy ‘decorated with yellow ribbons (see the photo below).This trophy was won by a competitor from Lithuania – I wonder how many more countries this trophy will go to in the next ten years which is the period of time over which it will bear Stephen’s name – amazing !! Wednesday 16th July Druids Heath Golf Club I was contacted by Graham from Druids Heath Golf club about a Senior’s Open that he helped organise and also took part in.Graham’s nominated charity was Teenage Cancer Trust as a result of hearing Stephen’s Story. I was invited to the golf club on the evening to accept a cheque for £1000 and to give a small speech about Stephen’s legacy and Teenage Cancer Trust. I was made to feel so welcome so a big thank you to everyone involved with the day. There was also talk of another event being organised in Stephen’s name so watch this space...................................

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Pride of Britain Awards 2014

Ok this is my third and final request for everyone to vote for an award for Stephen. A few months back when Stephen came to the attention of the nation there were many of you who said he should be nominated for the Pride of Britain Awards in 2014.These awards celebrate the awe-inspiring achievements of truly remarkable people who make our world a better place. I've been asked by so many people to let everyone know who reads this page that the official nominations form is now available to fill in on line by clicking on the link below or a nomination form can be collected from your local Lidl store. The form does ask for an award category and I think Stephen meets the criteria for a few of them.If you decide to nominate him it doesn't matter which category you choose as the judging panel reserve the right to select the category for the nominee to be considered in. All nominations must be received by midnight on Friday 15th August. So, let's see what we can achieve for Stephen by putting in that nomination and allowing his story to be broadcast in a primetime slot on ITV to five million viewers .......wow !! Thank you Jane x http://ift.tt/145uLZu via Stephen's story http://ift.tt/145uLZu

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JustGiving Awards Voting App

JustGiving Awards Finalist Stephen has been selected as a finalist in the outstanding commitment to fundraising category in this year’s JustGiving Awards. The JustGiving Awards celebrate the amazing things people do for the causes they care about. Nominations are made by members of the public and this year there were over 2,500 entries so I'm very proud of Stephen's achievement in getting this far. The awards have been whittled down to a shortlist by a team at JustGiving and now,for the first time the public have the opportunity to decide the winners.So to everyone who thinks that Stephen deserves to win please can you vote for him by following this link http://ift.tt/1tmYVzy Voting is open until Saturday 23rd August and the finalists with the most votes will receive the JustGiving trophy for their category. Please share the link with friends and family and spread the word that Stephen is a finalist. Thank you Jane x via Stephen's story http://ift.tt/1tmYVzy

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Fixers | National Lottery Good Causes

Does everyone remember when Stephen became a Fixer so that he could become involved with the the Good Gestures Day in 2013 ? Then on Saturday 10th May 2014 he participated in National Good Gestures Day and created a campaign, with the help of Fixers, to spread happiness and positivity. More than 320 of his friends and supporters gathered at ten locations nationwide to dole out free high-fives, handshakes, hugs and fist bumps to passing members of the public. Well now Fixers need your help as they are finalist for Best UK Charity in the National Lottery Awards. They need thousands of people to vote for them if they’re to stand a chance of winning as they're up against some big names and Fixers is a little known charity. Wouldn't it be great for the 13,000 young people who have already become Fixers – like Stephen and his friends – to get the national recognition they deserve for doing good things to help others? The vote closes on Wednesday at midnight so we have to be quick! It’s only takes two clicks and an email, and you’re not signing up for anything. Vote now to support Stephen’s National Good Gestures Campaign with Fixers! Go to http://ift.tt/1jKMJZ7 and click ‘Vote’. You can watch Stephen’s film on there to see what he did with Fixers and why it was so important to him. Ask everyone you know to vote too! And let FixersUK know when you’ve done it so they can say a big thank you. via Stephen's story http://ift.tt/1jKMJZ7

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Oh well I haven't managed to update this page as often as I intended but my excuse is that I went back to work on Monday 23rd June so have been juggling that with the numerous charity events that are being organised in Stephen's name. There's a few events that I've attended that I'll mention here but I know that there's lots more happening elsewhere so massive thanks to everyone who has been ,is,or will be involved in fundraising for Stephen's Story x 26th June Happy List Party On the 25th May Stephen was listed in the Indepependent on Sunday Happy List for 2014.Founded as an an antidote to all those rich lists and celebrity lists it celebrates a different set of values,those who start charities ,give huge amounts of time to volunteering ,raising money and much more The party was held in London to celebrate the 100 people who made the list and enriched our lives in 2014.It was an honour to be invited there and chat with some of the wonderful individuals who were on the list. Well done to the Independent on Sunday for organising this event and for the uniqueness of the list. 28th June Thumbs up Summer Ball What a fantastic night this was - Nicky,Stuart ,Kerry and Deb you did an amazing job.Before we even entered the Tower Suite music was provided by the Chase Terrace Technology College band,once inside the hospitality continued and entertainment was provided by Alan Hazel ,The Pandemonium Drummers,Jean Martyn and local band The Shine who were billed as the'ultimate party band' and certainly lived up to this .Again too many people to mention but thanks to everyone who got involved with this event.I met some wonderful people and had a fabulous night .Final thanks to Hewkin Executive Vehicle Hire for taking myself and friends to Drayton Manor and getting us all home safely. 1st July National Enterprise Challenge -Trentham Gardens The aim of this day was simple ;to help improve the enterprise skills of young people across the UK.'Enterprise skills' is usually used when referring to the task of giving people the skills to be an entrepreneur ,or the skills to start a business.To the organisation who run this event the belief is that 'enterprise' is a set of skills needed to excel,not just in school or the workplace ,but in everyday life.Those skills include teamwork ,communication ,leadership and presentation.It was an absolute honour to be invited to witness the confident,postive and inspirational young people who took part. It was a memorable day and one of the reasons for being invited was for the presentation of the 2014 Harry Moseley Award.Myself and Stephen's friend James accepted this award from Georgina Moseley on behalf of Stephen and then everyone took part in a thumbs up which you can see in the photo below. Thank you to Ben and Michael Dyer (co-founders Youth Enterprise)and the rest of the team who organised this event and who had previously supported Stephen - the work you do is phenomenal. 3rd July Thumbs Up for Stephen Award at Boney Hay School Boney Hay School inaugurated an award called "Thumbs Up for Stephen" which will be presented to a Year 6 pupil each year.The award will go to to someone who has made the most of every second of their time spent at the school irrelevant of how long they have been there. Thank you for inviting me to present the award which fits so much with Stephen's legacy.A great nights entertainment was provided by all the pupils who took part in 'Boney Hay Got Talent'

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Everyone knows how amazing Stephen was.However,I also have another amazing son,Christopher who has been studying for the past 4 years at University College London.Yesterday he got his results and he will graduate with a First Class Honours degee in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics. Christopher,your achievements are incredible and I'm so proud of you. What makes this all the more impressive is that Chris was sitting his finals when Stephen was admitted to hospital in April then had to sit the remaining three after Stephen passed away.Despite all this he still managed to average 81% in those exams (around 87% across the 4 years). Congratulations Chris you're a star or "awesome" which is how Stephen would have described you.Go out there now and celebrate in style - you so deserve it xx

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Update for Wristband Orders When Stephen first placed his Stephen's Story wristbands for sale on his website he anticipated that there would be minimal orders.He certainly did not expect the level of orders that flooded in after his facebook post on the 22nd April when over 800 orders were placed. Whilst this was fantastic news for his fundraising it also created a small administrative problem as previously Stephen would write out the envelopes,pop the wristbands inside and ask me to post them.Clearly this was not possible with such a backlog of orders to deal with.So with the help of Pixelloop,Design Pit and Print&Digital who provided pre-printed address labels and Chase Terrace Technology College who dealt with the admin side the majority of orders placed up to 8th June (invoice numbers up to 1957) should now have been received. However,if you have not received your order and it was placed before this date can you check that you provided address details .If you didn't please forward them to [email protected] quoting your invoice/order number. Thank you all for your patience as I'm aware that some of you were waiting for over 6 weeks for your orders. Any orders placed since the 9th June are currently being dealt with and should be with you shortly.

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