This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:
Young champion for disabled wins Lord Mayor of Leicester's citizen prize
A young champion for disabled people has been named the Lord Mayor of Leicester's Honoured Citizen of the Year.
Paige Murray, 16, who has cerebral palsy, is proud to speak out for the rights of people who use wheelchairs.
She is also an accomplished athlete.
Paige, of Braunstone, was one of 11 people invited to tea with the Lord Mayor Roger Blackmore during his year in office.
She was named the year's top honoured citizen and presented with a rose bowl.She said: "I'm a bit shocked about it really. But I'm very, very proud.
"I just go around making my voice heard and I keep myself busy."
Paige is on the Big Mouth Forum for disabled children, attending conferences and giving presentations on the work being done to address disability access issues.
She has also been involved in other projects, including the Streetvibe Youth Inclusion Project and Braunstone's youth panel.
She plays basketball, table tennis and various other sports and has represented Leicester at both the Stoke Mandeville Youth Disability Games and the Rotary Disabled Games, winning a total of 10 medals.
She said: "In the Big Mouth Forum, I've helped get new minibuses for disabled children and we deal a lot with how people see us.
"I speak out about what I believe in, my mum's taught me to do that.
"I have a lot to do with improving society for young disabled people, it's my goal in life. I want to be heavily involved in making a difference."
Paige's mum, Debra, said: "I'm the proudest parent on the planet.
"She never fails to amaze me and it is great to know that other people are seeing how fantastic she is."
This year's 11 honoured citizens were nominated by councillors and members of the public.
A panel of judges chose the top three.
Coun Blackmore said: "They are all people who have done something very worthy and we've had a very interesting variety of citizens. It's been a pleasure to meet them all. The judging panel had a very difficult job.
"The number of causes Paige champions are phenomenal and it's a particularly impressive achievement for someone her age."
In second place was Audrey Wilford, 74, from North Evington, who runs the Leicester Competitive Festival of Music and Dramatic Art.
She said: "I'm very pleased. This is a complete surprise.
"It was very nice to come and meet the Lord Mayor and I didn't realise this was a competition as well."
In third place was New Parks couple Serina Leeanne and Stuart Phillips, who run New Parks Community Boxing Gym.
Serina, 33, said: "It's a massive achievement. Our gym just engages with the children that hang around on the streets and it's helped bring crime down."
Other honoured citizens throughout the year included Ajmer Singh Basra, who organises fund-raising events at the city's Holy Bones Sikh temple, Diane Cank, of Northfields and Morton Tenants' and Residents' Association, who received £20,000 on Channel 4 TV show Secret Millionaire, and William Swinford, a 77-year-old volunteer from Evington.
This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:
"Inspirational" Paige receives Honoured Citizen award from Lord Mayor
An "inspirational" young champion for disabled people has been recognised for her efforts in changing the world for the better.
Paige Murray, who has cerebral palsy, has never been afraid to speak up for her beliefs and has tirelessly campaigned for disabled young people through her youth work in the city.
The 16-year-old, of Winstanley Drive, Braunstone, has now been given an Honoured Citizen award to celebrate her achievements.
It was presented at the Town Hall by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Roger Blackmore.Paige, who wants to be a disabled sports coach, says she has had a good mentor.She said: "I stand up for what I believe in, my mum's taught me to do that.
"I have a lot to do with improving society for young disabled people, it's my goal in life. I want to be heavily involved in making a difference.
"Disability sport is becoming more and more popular and I just think everyone is entitled to do it if they want.
"Getting this award has opened my eyes to what I can achieve, it's made me realise I can do anything if I set my mind to it."
Paige, who has a twin sister, Jade, has been involved in several projects, including the Streetvibe Youth Inclusion Project and Braunstone's youth panel.
She is also involved in the Big Mouth Forum for disabled children, attending conferences and giving presentations on the work being done to address disability access issues.
Mum Debra Murray said: "I'm extremely proud of her, she is so inspirational to other people – if she has something to say she is not afraid to say it.
"She started taking part in the Braunstone youth panel because she was being bullied and didn't want people to go through that."
Paige has also worked within the disabled children's services at the city council and, as a keen sportswoman, she has represented Leicester at both the Stoke Mandeville Youth Disability Games and the Rotary Disabled Games, winning a total of 10 medals.
Braunstone's councillor Anne Glover said: "Paige has quite a personality and that means people listen to her.
"It's very rare to get a child at a ward community meeting talking about getting more ramps for buildings. We were very impressed she turned up at all, let alone spoke to us."
