Sophia Cowburn

Sophia's twin brother took his own life last December after suffering from depression aged only 18. Her response has been typical of her - she has helped set up a charity called the Invictus Trust named after Ben's favourite poem. As a trustee and secretary, she has organised party nights and persuaded a local nightcblub owner to give his premises for free and a DJ to perform free of charge. She hopes to sell 700 tickets and raise £2500 from this one event. She is planning one event per term. The funds will be used to support other teenagers with mental health issues in Cornwall. She set up a Facebook page which attracted 1000 friends overnight and has been heavily involved in setting up the website www.invictustrust.co.uk . All this whilst she is studying for a degree in Early Childhood Education at Truro College, working 2 days a week as a Deputy Manager in a children's day nursery and working in a local pub in the evenings. She is selfless, hardworking and truly inspirational. She would love to have this honour as she has already completed a BTEC in Outdoor Education and along with her brother was a Sports Captain at school. Sport is a passion for her and she is encouraging the use of sport as one of the services that the Invictus Trust offers to troubled teenagers. I nominate her as a truly inspirational teenager who understands the benefits that sport can bring to the wider community. Her approach to life, work and study is an example to us all. Key role for Invictus is creating sponsored sports based events with our local sainsbury's as their charity of the year. BTEC =sports performance and excellence, not outdoor ed. At work I am the gym club coordinator for 700 under 5's in Cornwall!