Selaine Saxby, Member of Parliament for North Devon, celebrated SparkUK in Westminster this week, who are this year’s runners up in the MP’s Choice Constituency Champion of the Year Award. Conor Warren and Bridie Downing came to the Speaker’s House in Parliament to accept their award on behalf of Spark UK, a mental health organisation run by young people for young people in North Devon.
The MP’s Choice Constituency Champions of the Year award recognises the work of local organisations that have made a difference both in their community and across the country. SparkUK were highlighted for the difference their organisation makes to both expanding mental health awareness across schools and supporting young people who struggle with their mental health. Their work meant they were awarded the runners up prize and came to Parliament to celebrate their achievement in the Speaker’s House, with Mr Speaker presenting the awards.
SparkUK is a mental health organisation, founded by Conor Warren when he was 14. It is run by young people for young people, to raise awareness surrounding mental health and ensuring conversations are had about mental health in schools. As well as this, they create a range of resources, campaigns and lessons for schools and young people across the country, with the team being based in North Devon and aged between 14 and 18.
Their brilliant work has been recognised by this award and Selaine joined them in Parliament to celebrate their achievements, discussing the progress they have made and the next steps of their organisation.
Local MP, Selaine Saxby said:
“I am delighted that SparkUK have been awarded runners up in this year’s MPs Choice Constituency Champion of the Year Award. As a local organisation that started in North Devon and has now expanded to helping schools and educating young people across the country, this award is very well deserved. They do a fantastic job supporting young people with their mental health by providing resources, collaborating with schools to boost education surrounding these issues.
“It was also lovely to be joined by Conor and Bridie in the Speaker’s House to celebrate their achievement and talk more about the great work they do. I am so pleased that this local North Devon organisation has expanded and makes such a positive difference across the country to better support young people and is so effective because content is created by young people themselves.”
SparkUK Founder and CEO Conor Warren said:
“I founded SparkUK when I was 14, and we create mental health resources for schools across the UK, but we are based in North Devon. We are really proud to be here representing North Devon teenagers.”
