Demi Powell

When I first met Demi in 2002 she had recently returned from Peru where she spent 7 months as a volunteer working with disabled children. I was struck straight away by her bubbly, positive approach to life and found it incredible to discover that she had sadly lost her little boy Connor, at birth, the previous year. I was at a bit of a low point, looking back I was probably depressed (although never diagnosed). Demi was always there to be a shoulder to cry on, or just to lend an ear and helped me a lot. This was despite her holding down a full time job and doing volunteer work with the South of Scotland Table Tennis Development Association as a qualified table tennis coach and also with NHS Dumfries and Galloway where she was involved with Maternity Services Steering Committee as a lay representative and adviser on bereavement services. Thanks to Demi I soon found myself on the mend and owe her a lot of credit for always making time for me no matter how busy she was. She is currently a full time carer as she has adopted two little boys with disabilities, and the difference she has made to their lives is incredible. Amazingly Demi still has time for voluntary work and is currently working with SOFT UK as fundraising officer for 1 year then trustee and Scotland Coordinator where she will be coordinating the operations of the charity in Scotland. I feel Demi deserves a once in a lifetime opportunity for all her hard work and would be delighted to offer her this opportunity.