The Pride of Manchester Awards are usually a glitzy affair, but due to the unforeseen events of 2020, this year’s ceremony took place via Facebook.
The virtual event on Thursday was hosted by former Coronation Street star Kym Marsh and winners included footballer Marcus Rashford and young Isabella Hibbert.
Pride of Manchester, in partnership with TSB, pays a special tribute to unsung heroes who receive awards for their outstanding bravery.
Plenty of celebs got involved on the action too, including Little Mix, Joanna Lumley, and Bear Grylls.
Here’s a look at the full winners list from this year’s Pride of Manchester…
Marcus Rashford – Special Recognition
Everyone will agree that 22-year-old Marcus Rashford’s award was more than deserved after he forced the Government to continue giving children across the UK free school dinners throughout the school holidays to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The sportsman put his hard work into getting the go-ahead during the pandemic, which saw schools close with many children missing out on their regular free school meals, but Rashford made sure this would not be the case.
Footballer Marcus Rashford was given the Special Recognition Award this year (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
He raised a staggering £20million for the charity providing free meals for children and drove a huge Government U-turn.
Rashford was presented his award by Manchester United FC manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
Maggie Oliver – Special Recognition
Former detective constable Maggie Oliver, who is from Altrincham in Cheshire, was also given the Special Recognition Award.
Maggie, 64, was the whistleblower who exposed the catastrophic failures which Greater Manchester Police take to protect child victims of grooming gangs.
Maggie worked on the Operation Augusta case in 2004 – a widespread investigation which delved into a suspected grooming group of older men, based in Rusholme.
Maggie Oliver was the whistleblower who exposed the failures which Greater Manchester Police took to protect child victims of grooming gangs (Image: MEN MEDIA)
During her time as a detective constable, she gained the trust of the girls involved, many of whom were in care and helped to identify 97 potential suspects and 26 victims.
A year after she began working on the case, Maggie took compassionate care to look after her terminally ill husband Norman.
The investigation was dropped shortly after she left due to concerns from senior officers about the costs.
However eight of the suspects went on to commit further serious sexual offences, including rape.
Later in 2011, Maggie left the police in protest at the handling of the Rochdale grooming trial and what she saw was the betrayal of a key witness whose trust she had gained.
After this, Maggie became an outspoken critic of the authorities and insisted they had covered up the full extent of grooming and abuse and failed to protect children.
Dr Gerry O’Shea – Special Recognition
Dr Gerry O’Shea was also given the Special Recognition Award after he opened his surgery doors to treat the increasing numbers of homeless people in the region.
The 56-year-old works alongside his colleague Dr Shaun Jackson and six other doctors at the bustling Urban Village medical practice.
Dr Gerry O’Shea was awarded his gong for all he has done for homeless people in Manchester (Image: Unknown)
The surgery offers services to around 750 homeless patients throughout the week, which includes a weekly drop-in clinic every Wednesday.
Dr Gerry went above and beyond to help the homeless, who do not usually have access to a GP or medical care because they don’t have a fixed address.
Homeless people visited Gerry’s practice and were told to use the address of the practice to seek the care they need.
NHS staff – Pride of Manchester Salute
It’s no surprise that the NHS were awarded with the Pride of Manchester Salute this year, following the horrible events of 2020.
Staff working across Manchester were handed a huge recognition of achievement and given the award for working tirelessly on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic to help treat those in need.
The NHS were given the Pride of Manchester Salute this year (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Luchia Fitzgerald – Lifetime Achievement
Luchia Fitzgerald was given the Lifetime Achievement Award due to her work as a campaigner for LGBT and women’s rights in Manchester.
The 72-year-old has been fighting for the rights of others for more than 60 years now.
Luchia arrived in Manchester from her native Ireland as a teenager in 1961 after she fled an abusive upbringing with her grandmother.
After dealing with homelessness and run ins with the police, she was sent for a lobotomy to ‘cure’ her sexuality.
Luchia Fitzgerald was given the Lifetime Achievement Award due to her work as a campaigner for LGBT and women’s rights (Image: Unknown)
After managing to escape she took refuge in the New Union Hotel, where older lesbians took her under her wing.
After a brief relationship with Angela Cooper, the pair formed a friendship and a campaigning partnership that thrives to this day.
Their early activism involved painting ‘lesbians are everywhere’ in giant yellow letters across town, but they also helped provide pregnancy testing and helplines for women who had suffered domestic violence or rape.
Luchia and Angela took over an empty property and opened the first women’s refuge outside of London.
The awards were forced to go virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic (Image: Handout)
They also established a radical printing press, played in a rock band called the Northern Women’s Liberation Band and led protests against clause 28 by organising a 20,000 strong march through Manchester.
Luchia is now chair of Irwell Valley Homes residents’ group and she advocates for the LGBT community and in particular for older LGBT people.
Isabella Hibbert – Child of Courage
Isabella Hibbert was recognised as the Child of Courage because when she was just four-years-old, she called 999 after finding her mum Chelsea, 27, unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Isabella, who is now six, gave the call handler her address so they could send help straight away.
The youngster clearly answered questions from the 99 responder who asked “is your mummy breathing?” and “is your mummy awake?”
Isabella Hibbert was given the Child of Courage award for saving her mum’s life (Image: Unknown)
Isabella bravely dragged her little chair from the living room to the front door and unlocked it for the paramedics and also rang her grandmother on her mum’s phone to tell her what had happened.
Chelsea was later taken to hospital and has made a full recovery, and credits her daughter’s love of ambulance programmes for her response – despite them never having had a conversation about what to do in such a situation.
Joseph Hibbert – Young Fundraiser
Joseph Hibbert is just 10-years-old but has been been fundraising for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital ever since he was three.
The youngster has raised more than £32,000 for the hospital’s charity – despite having never been a patient there.
(Image: Unknown)
He hopes to add another £10,000 by climbing Kinder Scout in the Peak District later this year.
Joseph began fundraising after he saw a video about the hospital and decided to take part in a mini run, completing a total of 1500m in Manchester’s Heaton Park.
He then decided to run 5k before he was five and managed to raise more than £3,000 for the hospital charity.
Katie Holmes – Teenager of Courage
Katie Holmes, who has cerebral palsy, has raised money to help others with the same condition and is determined to raise more.
Katie’s condition was caused by a bleed on the brain when she was born prematurely at 28 weeks.
The teen has undergone five major operations to help her walk and has metal rods in her legs and uses sticks for support.
Despite this, she has taken on several challenges including the Great Manchester Run to help pay for her ongoing physiotherapy and this year she is running 2k to raise funds for the Stockport cerebral Palsy Society.
Paul Redfern – TSB Community Spirit Award
Jim Nicholas is a DJ and Elvis impersonator who has raised a lot of money for charity (Image: Unknown)
Paul Redfern was presented with his award by Happy Mondays star Bez for leading a group of lifesaving volunteers on two wheels who deliver vital blood supplied where most urgently needed.
The 50-year-old is the founder of Blood Bikes Manchester – a volunteer-led organisation that helps save thousands of lives across the North West by transporting blood, plasma, platelets, vaccines and breast milk to nearly every hospital in the region.
They operate mostly at night, at weekends and through the holidays, with the service provided completely free of charge by the volunteers.
It’s certainly a topic that is close to Paul’s heart after he was involved in a serious motorbike accident aged 18 and lost his right leg but his life was saved by an emergency blood transfusion.
Last year, Blood Bikes Manchester estimated they saved local NHS and hospice services over £340,000 after completing 18 emergency runs, 564 urgent runs and 680 non urgent and routine sample runs.
Jim has raised more than £200,000 for the Francis House Children’s Hospice (Image: Unknown)
Jim Nicholas – Fundraiser of the Year
Jim Nicholas, 73, makes a living as a DJ and Elvis impersonator, but he’s also spent a log of his time raising money for Francis House Children’s Hospice.
Jim has managed to raise more than £200,000 for the charity over the past 20 years to ensure that they can continue giving children with life-limiting illnesses, the help that they need.
Jim has put out a collection box during his shows at hundreds of venues across Manchester and beyond.
The MEN Pride of Manchester Awards, in partnership with TSB, will premiere on Facebook Live at 7pm on Thursday.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
