00:30Both Abby and I are absolutely delighted to be here, to welcome you all to the 2025 Wolverhampton
00:43Young Citizen of the Year Rotary Awards. Ladies and gentlemen, I think that deserves a round of applause.
00:49And has delivered whole school assemblies on overcoming fear to follow their passion.
00:59He has raised funds via social enterprise projects, selling snacks at break time in school to buy Christmas gifts for residents of the local care home.
01:09He also dressed up as Father Christmas to sing songs and entertain the residents.
01:14His dream is to go to university and eventually work in musical theatre, whilst continuing to raise awareness of the arts and a positive effect that can have on poor mental health.
01:29And so does it have twice a post-pac. He was nominated by a range of people due to his work with a charity called Mender Meetup, which focuses on helping men cope with mental health and suicide prevention.
01:43A charity which started in Manchester has now been established in Wolverhampton for four years and supports over 300 men aged 18 to 64, with Fraser being a driving force behind many of his activities.
01:58His involvement arose out of his own traumatic personal journey.
02:04Following a family breakdown, he supported his mother in the care of his two younger brothers.
02:10Further difficult life events also had an impact on his own mental health and wellbeing.
02:16It was at that time that friends introduced him to the Mender Meetup and having discovered its value for himself, threw himself into supporting the charity and extending its influence.
02:27Thus, the support he received taught him how to love and value himself, and building up his self-confidence of other members is core to its aims.
02:39The charity also seeks to change the negative perceptions around young men as part of their confidence-building journey.
02:46His involvement now extends to family days, WhatsApp group chats, leading hikes and expeditions, and of course football is ambitious to develop a muster train to be more effective around suicide prevention as well as mountain leadership.
03:04Ladies and gentlemen, Fraser Humphries.
03:18We have our three winners. How are you doing, guys?
03:20Fantastic.
03:21Absolutely.
03:22Awesome work.
03:23So we'll go from left to right.
03:24We've got Fraser, Fraser Humphries.
03:26Where were you from, Fraser?
03:27Mountain.
03:28Well, which?
03:29Penderford.
03:30Cool.
03:31Eva.
03:32Hello.
03:33Porter Hampton.
03:34Porter Hampton.
03:35Porter Hampton.
03:36And?
03:37Ethan Shaw, from Bilston.
03:38Bilstonian.
03:39Yes, absolutely.
03:40Cool.
03:41So, how does it feel to be, you know, brought up stage and picked out as a winner?
03:46I think it's absolutely unreal.
03:48Fantastic.
03:49Yeah?
03:50Absolutely.
03:51It feels great to be recognised for the great work we do.
03:54Yeah, yeah.
03:55So you're right.
03:56And, Eva, you've got a special recognition award.
03:59That was a surprise one, wasn't it?
04:01Yeah, definitely.
04:02I'm lucky.
04:03Yeah.
04:04I'm so thankful.
04:05Yeah, yeah.
04:06Cool.
04:07And what do you guys want to go on to do then, Fraser?
04:10Where are you heading in life?
04:12Just carry on being the...
04:14Being the...
04:15Like career-wise and that, where do we?
04:19Well, right now I work in construction.
04:22Yeah?
04:23So, you know, maybe stepping into a managerial role.
04:26Yeah, yeah.
04:27Okay.
04:28But, other than that, it's, you know, carry on being the driver before us in the community.
04:34Good man, good man.
04:35Good man, good man.
04:36And, Eva?
04:37What about yourself?
04:38Just continuing your good work?
04:40Spreading the word?
04:42Yeah.
04:43That, and I wanted to become an occupational therapist.
04:46Oh, cool.
04:47We'll look out for that.
04:48And, Ethan, what are your plans, buddy?
04:50Well, the dream is drama school.
04:52Yeah?
04:53Hopefully end up on the West End one day.
04:54Oh, wicked.
04:55So, stage.
04:56Stage crew.
04:57Yeah, absolutely.
04:58So, you involved in stage now?
04:59Yes.
05:00So, I've just finished Matilda the Musical.
05:02Yeah?
05:03In my school.
05:04And now we're doing Sister Act at the moment.
05:05Right.
05:06So, I've just started the rehearsal process for that.
05:07Well, we had the fantastic Wolverhamptons Beverly Knight.
05:10We did, yeah.
05:11You've been involved in a Sister Act.
05:12Yeah, yeah.
05:13Well, we're letting you get back off to your families.
05:14Well done, guys.
05:15Well done.
05:16Thank you very much.
05:18A magnificent, massive supporter of the Young Citizen Awards.
05:25A former legend of the Expressing Star, Pete Maidley, who we lost sadly just over a year ago.
05:34But it's wonderful to see his father, John Maidley, and his son, Elias Maidley, here tonight to support the awards.
05:42And in recognition of all the great work that Pete has done.
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