Last year, Ceira Handford, a year 6 pupil at Bovey Tracey Primary School, completed her Civic Award, which is the primary school equivalent to the Duke of Edinburgh Award. As part of the award she had to support a charity and organise a fundraising event.

Ceira chose to lend her support to Devon Air Ambulance because a few years ago she won a colouring competition at Pecorama, which was supporting DAA as their charity of the year. Her prize was an airbase visit which inspired her Civic Award activity.

To maintain the link to her own successful colouring experience, Ceira organised a colouring competition at Bovey Tracey Primary last June for children across the year groups, and volunteer speaker, Tony Cannon, went along to give a school talk. The colouring competition Ceira organised raise £165.25 for Devon's air ambulances and competition winners also had the chance to visit our airbase!

Young people might be interested to find out how they can get involved with the Civic Award and support a local charity like Devon Air Ambulance. 

What kind of things can you do for your Civic Award activity?

• Active Citizenship in your school community could involve peer mediation, learning and peer mentors, reading buddies, school councillors or other positions of trust and responsibility in school.
• Active Citizenship in your home communities could involve pupils taking part in environmental and beach cleans, bulb planting, helping at Brownies / Cubs / sports clubs and looking after people in the community. You might also work with others to organise school events to support local charities.
• You need to adopt a cause or charity that you feel strongly about, research it and find ways to support it. You can set up a sponsored event to help raise money for your chosen charity.