Courtney is 18 and lives with her family in Oxfordshire. She decided to do good stuff after visiting her Nan in hospital one Christmas. Since then she’s delivered over 5,000 gifts to people in hospitals, hospices and care homes.
How did you come up with your idea to deliver Chirstmas presents?
In 2012 my great Nan was taken to hospital just before Christmas. The thought of not spending Christmas day with her was just too upsetting, so I took Christmas to her ward! When I was there I noticed that there were lots of other people who would be without their own loved ones at Christmas and I decided to start the Secret Santa campaign to make sure that people in my community would have something to look forward to at Christmas.
Young people often get a bad reputation. Do you think young people do enough good stuff?
When a negative story gets printed about young people, others often think generalise and put us all in the same box. I know lots of inspiring teens who go above and beyond to help others. It’s important to remember the whole ethos behind #givingtuesday – that you don’t have to make some grand gesture, you can just do something small. Everyone has the ability to do good, and young people do it everyday.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be and why?
IPeople can become greedy, often not intentionally, but we always expect more when actually we need less. The time I’ve spent with families who are in crisis, or with people at the end of their lives has really brought home to me that all you really need in life is the love and support of others.
You can read more of Courtney’s story, and find out how you can support her campaign by visiting the Charity Secret Santa Facebook Page.
