Triple joy as three Scottish finalists make this year’s JustGiving Awards

Three Scottish finalists have cause to celebrate after being named in the final line up in this year’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards.

Mariya Javed, Lois Wolffe and charity, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, were selected by a panel of judges including Radio DJ Rickie Haywood-Williams, Actress Angela Griffin, longstanding fundraiser, famous for wearing a charity shop outfit every day for one year, Caroline Jones and the general manager of JustGiving, Pascale Harvie.

14-year-old, Mariya Javed from Renfrewshire, who was nominated by the public for the Teen category, has been using the JustGiving platform for the past six years to raise funds for research into arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and to fund child bereavement services. Mariya’s older brother, Ahmar, died from the rare condition, AVM, which caused him to develop a sudden bleed on the brain in 2017 when he was just 13-years-old.

Mariya’s most recent challenge was the Glasgow Kiltwalk in April which raised £779 for Glasgow Children’s Hospital, which will be doubled by the Hunter Foundation. She joined thousands of people to walk seven miles through Glasgow wearing a kilt, passing well known sites and landmarks.

She said: “This year was my seventh Kiltwalk in memory of Ahmar. The date we walked actually fell on the exact date we lost him, so it was extra special for me and all my family to be able to do something and remember him in this way.

“I am really happy to have reached the finals of the JustGiving Awards. It was a complete shock to me as I didn’t even know that I had been nominated and never expected to get to the final. However, it is all very bittersweet as this is my way of keeping my brother’s memory alive and to help others who may sadly be affected by AVM and child bereavement.”

Lois Wolffe, 57 from Gatehouse of Fleet, has been named as a finalist in this year’s Creative Fundraiser of the Year category after raising more than £800 for charity.

After hearing the diagnosis that her mum had mixed dementia, Lois took up embroidery, an old hobby from her childhood, as part of her own self-care during what was a difficult time. She also wanted to do something to make a difference and support others going through what she, her mum and the rest of her family were experiencing. Being a fundraiser for most of her life, Lois decided she’d raise crucial funds for Alzheimer Scotland who make sure nobody faces dementia alone.

“You can harness any activity and turn it into a fundraiser. That’s what I did. I wasn’t doing something particularly challenging, but it told ourstory, which I soon discovered is a universal story and it touched the hearts of others inspiring them to give to a good cause.

“I had found an old fisherman’s smock which mum used to wear when sculpting her pottery animals. She’d gifted it to me some time ago and I knew I wanted to embellish it and embroider it with life.

“Each embroidered element connects to mum in some way. I wasn’t sure that I had the skill to create something so much more beautiful and meaningful than just a smock, but each teeny tiny stitch is so full of love for the remarkable woman who made me,” said Lois.

And the charity founded by Doddie Weir, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, is in the running for Charity of the Year Award for its work in investing into research projects across the UK to find effective treatments for motor neuron disease (MND). The charity has had “an incredibly poignant and important year”, with its annual Doddie Aid fundraising event – a virtual mass-participation exercise event raising more than £2m and doubling the number of participants. It also recently launched its research strategy, ‘Catalysing a Cure’, which will guide how it invests funds raised and partnered with Scottish Rugby to deliver its five-year anniversary celebrations at Murrayfield Stadium during Scotland’s match against New Zealand.

Jill Douglas, CEO at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation said: “The past year has been an incredibly poignant, and important year for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation with a great deal achieved so to be recognised in this way as a finalist is wonderful.

“In particular, the impact of Doddie Aid cannot be overstated. We almost doubled the number of participants – from 20,000 to 38,000 – and raised £2m from the event itself, the majority of which will be carefully invested into the most promising MND research. While it will take time to see the benefits of this investment into research, we are confident that it is vital towards achieving the vision of My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, a world free of MND.”

This is the eleventh year of the JustGiving Awards and the judges agreed that this year’s event will be an incredibly emotional yet truly inspiring evening. From more than 13,000 nominations, the judges worked hard to shortlist 21 inspiring finalists, three for each of the seven awards categories.

Pascale Harvie, President and general manager at JustGiving said: “Our fundraisers and crowdfunders are amazing and whilst they don’t do what they do for praise and recognition, every single person like Gabriel and Gary deserve it.

“The ceremony is a magical evening but most importantly it’s a moment for us at JustGiving to thank, formally recognise and celebrate the individuals, groups and charities who have done extraordinary things in the interest of others.”

Members of the public now have the opportunity to vote for the fundraisers they want to see crowned for their efforts via: https://page.justgiving.com/awardsvoting2023

Seven winners as well as JustGiving’s Charity of the Year will be announced at the ceremony which takes place at London’s Roundhouse on the evening of September 25th. Winners will be presented with their official trophy by well-known faces from the world of celebrities and sport.

Previous JustGiving Award winners include Max Woosey, who was crowned 2022 Young Fundraiser of the Year for camping outside for hundreds of nights in memory of his neighbour and raising funds for North Devon Hospice.

Three dads walking were awarded Fundraising Team of the Year for raising significant awareness for suicide prevention and funds for Papyrus and the late Dame Deborah James’ family received a special recognition award after she created wide-scale awareness of Bowel cancer and its symptoms and raised millions of pounds for the Bowelbabe Fund.

Pat Phelan, MD of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless said: “We’re proud to recognise the finalists and everyone nominated for this year’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards. We’re also grateful to all of the donors who support them. By combining the energy and enthusiasm of fundraisers like Gabriel and Gary with the generosity of the nation, truly amazing things can happen.”

NOTES TO EDITOR

For further information contact  press@justgiving.com

*All figures quoted include GiftAid and are accurate at the time of releasing this press release.

Figures quoted relate to fundraising activity on JustGiving only. JustGiving is one of many fundraising platforms that people can choose from when fundraising for events such as the London Marathon.

About JustGiving
JustGiving is the world’s most trusted platform for online giving. We help people raise money for the charities and people they care about the most. In 2000, JustGiving.com began with one simple goal – to enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world. Fast forward 22 years and over £5 billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world.

JustGiving became part of Blackbaud, the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good in 2017.

To note – JustGiving does not charge a fee on donations but instead operates a voluntary contribution model, meaning people donating can choose to leave a ‘tip’ if they wish. The only non-optional fee is a 1.9% + 30p to cover card payment charges.