Pride of Guernsey ‘brings the community together’

Zoe won the award due to the charity work she did for Les Bourgs Hospice, most notably the Walk Five Donate Five event, which she organised with her friend, Paige Zabiela.

Despite all her hard work, Zoe said that it was a ‘massive surprise’ to have even been nominated.

‘I wasn’t expecting it at all,’ she said, ‘it was such an honour to win.’

Zoe urges others to nominate people they believe to be deserving of any of the Pride of Guernsey awards. She said it was important to recognise people who are making a difference.

‘I would definitely encourage others to nominate – I didn’t expect to be, so it was nice to see that what I had done had made an impact,’ she said.

‘The awards are important because they bring the community together. Stories are shared that people may not have heard before.’

Since winning the Young Achiever category, Zoe has continued to raise funds for Les Bourgs and said that her events with Paige have raised around £15,000.

‘Lockdown impacted some of our events but we’ve recently done the Walk Five Donate Five challenge again. We also did a lockdown fundraiser and an afternoon tea.’

Zoe’s favourite part of the events are ‘getting to know people in the community’.

‘You meet people from so many different walks of life and get to hear their stories.’

Zoe has now started working for BBC Radio Guernsey, a job which she started in June, as well as continuing fundraising and ‘helping out where I can’.

Helping others is a sentiment that Zoe holds strongly and believes this captures the essence of the awards.

‘Helping people – that’s what the awards are all about,’ she said.

. There are lots of young achievers in Guernsey. If you recognise one and nominate them for a Pride of Guernsey award, they could win a cash prize. The deadline for nominations is Friday.