INTRODUCING seven-year-old Emberly, a carer since the age of five and now the youngest ever ambassador for a Dorset charity.
Young carer Emberly Heppenstall has been made an ambassador for MYTIME Young Carers, having cared for her mother since the age of five and has been described as a “fierce advocate” for the charity.
Having actively promoted MYTIME’s work within her community through speaking at focus groups at her school and in a TV interview, Emberly is now going one (dance) step further. She’ll be taking on a four-hour dance-a-thon on April 16 to raise much needed funds for the charity.
Emberly cares for her mother Jen Heppenstall who suffers from a brain injury. The youngster describes her role as a carer very simply, saying: “I tell mummy what to do and remind her when she forgets something.”
However, as mum Jen explains, Emberly’s role much bigger than that. She said: “Emberly became a young carer two years ago when I fell ill and needed support with memory and household tasks. Emberly helps me with my medication, cooking meals and remembering things.
“Because I’m partially sighted and struggle with my balance, she helps me stay safe inside and outside of the house when her daddy is at work. She has had to take on so much for someone so young.”
Despite her age, Emberly was inspired to start her latest campaign to raise money for the weekly MYTIME Zoom meetings and activity days. She said: “MYTIME helps me when I have struggles and worries about my mummy. We need to fundraise, because if MYTIME run out of money, the Zoom meetings for all the young carers can’t happen anymore.
“I am going to be doing a really cool dance-a-thon for fundraising. I could do it for four hours straight… sometimes stopping for snacks and drinks though, so I don’t get too sweaty.”
MYTIME’s fundraising director Penelope Day said: “Emberly is such an extraordinary character and an incredible ambassador for young carers everywhere. She’s full of ideas and ambition, and there’s no holding her back. We’re enormously proud of her for setting herself this challenge.”
Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/jen-heppenstall1 to donate to Emberly’s dance-a-thon.
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