A 10-year-old girl from Richmond in South West London has been honoured at The British Citizen Youth Awards, now in its 10th year, after raising more than £10,000 to bring books, gifts and food to children in hospital.
Vidhi Saurav was presented with the BCyA Medal of Honour at The Palace of Westminster on Thursday 29 October, in recognition of her inspiring fundraising efforts and dedication to supporting children and families during difficult times.
Vidhi first became involved with children’s charity, Spread a Smile, after spending a day volunteering with her mother at the start of her summer holidays, helping to put labels on books destined for hospital wards.
After discovering that the charity did not have enough funding for its next round of library books, she decided to take matters into her own hands, setting herself a fundraising challenge for her ninth birthday.
Over the following ten weeks, Vidhi completed 500 skips every day, amounting to around 38,000 skips, while also baking and selling more than 500 cupcakes and handmade macarons in parks, at stations and wherever she could find willing customers.
Determined to reach her goal, she also applied for grants, wrote a letter to the Royal Family and approached businesses for support, eventually surpassing her original £4,000 target and raising more than £6,000 during the campaign. The additional funds went towards presents for Christmas hampers distributed by Spread a Smile.
Since then, Vidhi has continued finding ways to make a difference, launching her own initiative, Vids Treasures Love, which aims to bring comfort, kindness and happiness to children and families in hospital. Through the initiative, Vidhi provides thoughtful gift hampers packed with love for children receiving hospital care, alongside setting up a snack station to ensure children, families and hospital staff have access to food when they need it most.
Her snack station, currently operating at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, is stocked by Vidhi, with hospital staff distributing snacks across the wards. She now hopes to expand the initiative to other hospitals.
The idea was inspired by a personal experience earlier this year, when Vidhi was rushed to hospital. With no cafés or vending machines open, her younger brother became hungry.
A nurse stepped in, offering her brother a biscuit from her own lunchbox. Inspired by this simple act of kindness, Vidhi decided to create the snack station to bring comfort and support to other families facing similar situations.
As part of Vids Treasures Love, Vidhi has also launched a special book trail in support of the National Year of Reading, hiding 1,500 brand-new books for children to discover and keep forever. The initiative aims to inspire a love of reading among young people while spreading joy through the excitement of finding a book to call their own.
Her remarkable efforts were celebrated at The British Citizen Youth Awards, in association with Specsavers, which recognises young people from across the UK who have made a positive impact on their communities and wider society.
Avni Vyas, Vidhi’s mother, said: “We are incredibly proud of Vidhi and everything she has achieved. What started as a simple idea to raise money for books for children in hospital has grown into so many wonderful projects, and it has been amazing to see her determination to make a difference.
“Having experienced how difficult and frightening being in hospital can be, Vidhi has always wanted to do something to bring comfort and happiness to other children and their families. It has been wonderful to see her turn those experiences into something so positive, helping others through her fundraising and initiatives.”
Samir Saurav, Vidhi’s father, added: “We had such a lovely day at the awards, celebrating so many inspiring young people and their achievements. Seeing Vidhi recognised with a British Citizen Youth Award was an incredibly proud moment for us, and we hope it encourages her to continue growing her projects, bringing her snack stations to more hospitals and inspiring other young people to make a difference.”
Mike Faulkner, Director of the BCyA, said: “It was a fantastic evening celebrating another incredible group of young people at this year’s British Citizen Youth Awards, particularly as we mark a decade of recognising outstanding achievements across the country.
“It was wonderful to bring everyone together for such a special occasion and see these inspiring young people receive the recognition they deserve. We are incredibly proud to shine a light on their achievements and the positive impact they continue to make.”
The award was presented to Vidhi by CBBC presenter Ben Shires, in front of her family, fellow award recipients and BCyA Patron Dame Mary Perkins.
Dame Mary Perkins, founder of Specsavers and BCyA Patron, said: “Vidhi is a true community champion whose kindness, commitment and dedication have made a lasting difference to the lives of others. She embodies the very best of citizenship and shows how one person can make a real difference.
“At Specsavers, we are proud to support the communities we serve and celebrate people like Vidhi, whose contribution helps make communities stronger. This recognition is a fitting tribute to her outstanding service to others and the positive impact she continues to make.”
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2027 medal presentations. Register online at www.britishcitizenyouthawards.co.uk.
