Dominic Morgan has achieved his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award!
Dom is the first person to achieve this prestigious award through the NMC DofE scheme that Millie Hawes founded in 2017. With many of our young people telling us that their school and/or college were unable to support them to complete their Bronze Award, we knew we had to introduce the Scheme to the Centre and offer this fantastic opportunity to our cohort of young people. We recognised that the societal barriers to accessing the Award were not just limited to people with a neuromuscular condition but affected young people with a whole variety of different conditions. As such, we joined forces with Cheshire Centre for Independent Living and iMap, two organisations that support young people with a huge range of physical, learning and behavioural difficulties. Working in partnership meant not only could we share skills and knowledge, but we could maximise integration and raise awareness of the societal barriers facing young people wanting to take on the DofE challenge.
DofE is a national scheme for people aged 14 to 24 in which participants undertake volunteering placements, physical activity sessions, skills-building opportunities and an expedition. It’s the perfect challenging yet rewarding platform from which young people can boost their CVs and university applications.
It's a tough challenge for anyone, and we are all in complete awe of Dom's achievement. The award ceremony on 26th February was a proud evening for Dom, his parents, his fellow DofE team members and our whole charity. Several hundred people heard about Dom's achievements and gave a huge round of applause when he went up to collect his certificate. Some said it wasn't possible. Dom has proved ANYTHING is possible. It's all about what you can do. It's much more about abilities than disabilities.
Dom completed a team expedition in the Lake District successfully with our group of ambitious young people who triumphed against the wind, rain and freezing temperatures to take on tent-building and outdoor cooking training. They’ve also developed exceptional first aid awareness and map-reading skills Dom learnt a new skill, which was to develop a high level of drawing and artistic creativity. He also volunteered in a community Basketball club for under-privileged youngsters in Crewe. There, he took photos and took responsibility for all their social media work.
The first indication of the impact of DofE is already coming to light. It is evident that the NMC DofE has significantly improved the confidence, resilience, feeling of control, self-esteem and sense of purpose of people with neuromuscular conditions.
Enormous congratulations to Dom from all us at NMC! If you are aged between 14 and 24 and this has inspired you to take part, please contact Lorraine Woolley, our Transitions Officer, on lorraine.woolley@nmcentre.com
