Prime Minster’s Points of Light Award

It is with great pleasure that we can announce Jean and Di have been awarded the Points of Light Award by Prime Minister, Theresa May.

The Prime Minister’s daily Points of Light award recognises outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making positive changes in their communities and around the world. The UK award was set up in partnership with the US Points of Light Foundation, which was established over 25 years ago. Jean and Di will be the UK’s 1054th and 1055th Points of Light.

The following is from the Point’s of Light website:

After they struggled to find support for their daughters who both had eating disorders, Jean and Di worked to develop a course to support both sufferers and their carers. Following extensive research and guidance from Dr Ros Simpson, a local GP and medical teacher, the ‘tastelife’ course was published in July 2013 after substantial piloting. The eight weekly sessions for sufferers and carers help families cope with the struggles of eating disorders, and can be found in 27 locations across the country. They have also developed a new ‘Awareness of Eating Disorders’ course that will be delivered in schools to help young people understand more about attitudes and behaviours towards food and eating.

In a personal letter to Jean, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“Together with Di, you are making a real difference to people suffering from eating disorders, as well as their families and carers. Drawing on your own personal experience of supporting your daughter with her eating disorder, you have shown a remarkable dedication to helping young people have a better understanding of eating behaviours and providing them with the tools they need to support their recovery.”

In a personal letter to Di, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“You have both responded to the struggle of supporting daughters with eating disorders by creating a tremendous force for good. Your ambitious work with ‘tastelife’ is not only providing sufferers with vital support on their path to recovery, but also giving carers and families much needed guidance in how to cope with the daily difficulties of eating disorders.”

Jean and Di said:

“We are absolutely delighted that we have been chosen as ‘Points of Light’ for our work in combating the hideous modern curse of eating disorders. Through ‘tastelife’, lives are being changed, families remade and now, with this award, news of this work will surely spread new areas of the country. Many thanks for the recognition.”

More about Points of Light can be found here