'Inspirational' Eastwood teen recognised for dedication to helping others

Brandon Louth has been revealed as the deserving winner of The Nottingham’s Innovative Young People of 2021 competition.

The 19-year-old, who lives in Eastwood, received the honour and a £250 tech voucher after showing ‘excellent entrepreneurial and community-minded spirit’.

The competition sought to find young people who have demonstrated inspiring ways to further their education or boost career aspirations.

Brandon has become an inspiration to his peers, making a real difference to young people across Nottingham through his work with The Wolfpack Project – leading to his nomination by the charity’s founder and CEO Damien Reynolds.

The altruistic teen has dedicated more than 100 hours of his own time to be an active and frequent volunteer for the charity that has a mission to reduce loneliness and isolation amongst young people in the city and to promote positive mental health.

Damien explained: “Since joining our Youth Advisory Board, Brandon has helped change the lives of many younger people through his volunteering and by initiating a wonderful pilot project.

“He has personally delivered assemblies to post-16 students at West Bridgford School, as well as showcasing The Wolfpack Project’s work via promotion on the school’s TVs and e-newsletters.

“His incredible efforts have reached more than 100 students and the pilot has now been rolled out to other schools.

“As well as taking a leading role in chairing many Youth Advisory Board meetings, he has also researched and delivered reports on areas such as social media engagement, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and the Covid vaccination programme and the impact of that on younger people specifically.”

Brandon won the honours in the 18-21 age group, while 16-year-old Sidra Husejnovic won the 14-17 age category of the competition.

The Nottingham’s head of people and development, Anne Leivers, added: “We received really high calibre submissions, and although it was a challenge to narrow them down we are confident we’ve chosen extremely deserving winners.

“Brandon and Sidra are positive examples of how dedicated and inspirational young people can make a positive contribution to their communities through innovation and willingness to support others.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​”