17
Oct
Two inspirational Harrogate children win awards for charity work
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Two Harrogate children who raised thousands of pounds each have won awards for their inspirational charity work.
Ten-year-old heart surgery patient Henry Connolly cycled 30 miles from York to Selby and back in September last year for the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
Sophia Felgate, also 10, raised over £10,000 for a cancer charity having beaten leukaemia twice.
At the 2025 Yorkshire Children of Courage Awards in Leeds last week, Henry was awarded the Fantastic Fundraiser award for children up to 12. Sophia was awarded the Amazing Achievement award for children up to 11.
Henry Connolly and his dad picking up a Children of Courage award from Jackie Chappel of sponsor Positive OSTCM and Coronation Street's Natalie Anderson.
Henry Connolly
With his dad by his side for support, Henry completed the challenge in a day, enduring some poor weather conditions along the way.
This was Henry’s first long-distance cycle, which he was very proud of.
He said:
When I was young, I had an operation on my heart, and I would like to raise money for the Children's Heart Surgery Fund. I would like the money to be used to help children who were born like me. I’m now 10 years old and I have decided to raise money by cycling 30 miles from York to Selby and back! I have never cycled more than 8 miles before, and I have only done that once! Please donate to help children who need help and heart surgery as I did.
When Henry was 4, doctors discovered a hole in his heart that had been there since he was 2. This meant his heart was working much harder than it needed to.
He was quickly admitted for open heart surgery, in which surgeons had to stop his heart to operate on it. Despite such an invasive procedure at such a young age, Henry was discharged from the hospital six days later.
Henry's dad, Oliver, said that for a long time Henry did not understand the magnitude of what he had to endure, but recently he had started asking more questions about it.
The 10-year-old was given a challenge to complete over the summer holidays by his school and decided to raise money for charity.
Henry’s bike ride raised £6,416.70 for the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
Sophia Felgate picked up her Children of Courage award from actor Amy Walsh.
Sophia Felgate
A week after her third birthday in June 2018, Sophia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Treatment lasted for two years and included chemotherapy. During the first few weeks, she experienced intense pain across her body and lost the ability to walk.
Sophia relapsed in 2021 and endured another two years of chemotherapy, operations and invasive procedures.
Despite these challenges, Sophia continued to think of others. When losing her hair, she did a sponsored head shave with her family, raising over £8,000 for Candlelighters, a charity that has helped her a lot over the years.
She raised a further £2,000 for the charity by doing 150 laps of her back lane in a month while still undergoing chemotherapy.
During recovery, she completed a five-mile sponsored walk, raising over £500 for the British Red Cross.
In a school report while Sophia was having treatment, one of her teachers wrote:
I have never met anyone, child or adult, who inspires me as much as Sophia. She is a bubbly and considerate member of the class who lights up any room. Her attitude to learning is everything a teacher could ask for; she works as hard as she can in every task and never gives up.
'Nothing short of inspiring'
The YCCA raised over £100,000 for charity.
Celebrity guests such as Leeds Rhinos’ Ash Hanley and Jamie Jones Buchanan, Coronation Street’s Natalie Anderson, and Emmerdale actors Amy Walsh and Ash Palmisciano were present at the event.
The awards were founded in 2011 by St James’ Place and highlight the courage of Yorkshire’s young people. They also raise funds for hundreds of charities around the region.
Radio and sports presenter Rich Williams, who hosted the event, said:
It has been an absolute honour to host the Yorkshire Children of Courage Awards for the first time. The courage and resilience shown by these young people is nothing short of inspiring. The room was filled with so much positivity and pride; it is a night I will never forget.
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