Niresha Umaichelvam

Niresha is a very kind and caring individual who believes in giving up some of her valuable time on a regular basis to help out in her community. She does this by working as a volunteer for various charities. Every year she helps out at Whitgift SNAP as a volunteer, which is a charity run for children with special needs. Previously, since she was 15, she used to give up a 3-4 of hours every week to help out in a local residential care home and The British Heart Foundation charity shop. During her time at the residential care home, she became very close to an elderly gentleman, who appreciated her company very much. Ernie Smith, who was a Veteran of the First World War, benefitted a lot from her company. So much so, he was pining for her during the last moments of his precious life. She has participated in Race for Life (Cancer Research UK) and has slept rough for 'Crisis' to raise funds. Whilst she was studying for her A levels, she also put herself out to tutor younger students English after school, whose first language wasn't English. Being charitable in various ways is second nature to Niresha and she enjoys giving back something to the community. I am very proud of my daughter and I believe that she is an inspiration to other youngsters. I strongly believe that people like her should be the ones to carry the Olympic Torch for their service to the community, and therefore hope that she will be given the opportunity to do so.