Tashan Daniel Award's support for the next generation
Tuesday 18 October 2022: Six young people have received funding to help them pursue their ambitions in sports and culture as part of Hillingdon Council's 2022 Tashan Daniel Award.
Hillingdon residents under the age of 21 were eligible to apply to the annual bursary scheme for financial support to buy sports equipment, gain qualifications in art and culture, enrol on vocational courses and pay for sports and competing opportunities in the UK up to the value of £2,000.
This year's winners were chosen by Tashan's father, Chandy Daniel; Cllr Jane Palmer, Hillingdon Council's Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care; and Priscilla Simpson, the council's Sport and Physical Activity Manager who reviewed more than 30 applications during the summer.
Cllr Palmer said: "The Tashan Daniel Award is our way of honouring an ambitious, creative young man while supporting the next generation to reach their potential.
"This year's winners stood out as truly inspirational young people and their commitment to what they want to achieve was evident. We felt that they deserved to benefit from this award, and we hope this enables them to continue to focus on achieving their individual goals."
The 2022 winners:
Bailey Sapsed, aged 15 from Ickenham, excels in water polo and has been selected to play for the London Regional Academy. Bailey has been awarded £670 and the funds will be used to pay for a residential water polo camp and training fees.
Ben Lazarevic, aged 17 from Uxbridge, has been involved in hockey for many years and has competed for the borough at the London Youth Games. Ben has also set up an after-school hockey club to coach others at his school. He has been awarded £790 to pay for coaching qualifications, equipment and indoor hockey boards to help him coach the next generation of players.
Billy Stubbings, aged 16 from Harefield, has a passion for theatre and performing arts. Since the age of 12, he has been heavily involved in school theatre productions. Billy has been awarded £1,500 from the award to pay for performing arts, singing, acting and dance classes.
Casey Jones, aged 15 from Northwood, is the number one ranked fencing player for under-15s in Britain and has participated in many national, international and European tournaments. He took part in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year and one day hopes to compete in the Olympics. He has been awarded £2,000 to pay for fencing equipment and other expenses associated with competing.
Grace Dowling, aged 15 from Ruislip, has danced since she was three years old and regularly competes in national competitions, as well as taking accredited dance lessons and exams. She was awarded £850, which she will use to pay for training, dance equipment and clothing.
Aisha Hibah Ali, aged 13 from Uxbridge, is a budding young athlete and has trained with FutunityUK Ltd for the past five years. Aisha has been awarded £1,511 to pay for membership of the British Gymnastics Association, clothing, summer camps, training and qualifications.
More information about the Tashan Daniel Awards is available at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/tashan-daniel-award
The awards were created in memory of young resident Tashan Daniel, aged 20 from Hillingdon, who was tragically killed in an unprovoked attack at Hillingdon Underground station in September 2019.
Tashan was a keen photographer, footballer and athlete with ambitions of competing in the Olympic Games as a world-class sprinter. During the past two years, the council has awarded funding to 15 young residents to support their aspirations in sport, culture and education.