It was the culmination of a year of competitions, which started last October in Chatham, with regional finals in December in Reigate, and the National final in Dudley, in January. Cherry has addressed three conferences and two school assemblies.
Cherry is dedicated to the Chatham befriending project, which is the only such scheme in Kent that supports asylum seekers aged 14 – 19 years old. These young people have no living relatives in the United Kingdom, and no English language skills. Starting this project 18months ago, Cherry has supported many young people in simple tasks such as posting letters, and developing their English language skills. Cherry's dream is to run a multi cultural project using art - the bursary will be used to pay for materials.
Cherry, who was the British Isles & Ireland candidate at the European Finals won over the judges by her "enthusiasm and leadership skills, awareness of the needs of her community, and her extremely high motivation”.
Her prize was a unique trophy plus a bursary of £2,500 for the European title, plus £1,500 for the previous titles.
