High Sheriff sings Sheffield young carers' praises

The concert, which featured spine-tingling performances from the University of Sheffield Chamber Choir and students from the Sheffield Music Academy, took place at the recently restored and refurbished Cathedral Church of St Marie in Sheffield city centre.

More than 120 people were treated to an evening of choral music and sacred musical arias, curated by St Marie’s Concerts and Programming Manager Silviu Cobeanu. The concert, which was generously supported by UBS Wealth Management, was then followed by a delicious pie and peas supper in the impressive Cutlers’ Hall.

The highlight of the evening, however, was provided by two of the young people currently being supported by the charity (which provides practical and emotional support to children and young people between the ages of 8 and 25 who care for a seriously ill or disabled member of their family). Radio Sheffield’s Paulette Edwards interviewed 17-year-old Emma, who cares for her mother who has epilepsy and her six year-old sister who has learning difficulties; and 13-year-old Phoebe, who cares for her father who has multiple physical and mental disabilities.

When asked why she was so keen to organise the event, the High Sheriff said: “Sheffield Young Carers is a vital support service for young carers like Phoebe and Emma, who are taking on extremely difficult and often quite adult roles, to help look after their families.

“Research by the BBC shows that 1 in 12 children and young people are young carers. That’s up to three young carers in every class in Sheffield, which is why I wanted to raise as much money as possible to help Sheffield Young Carers continue their great work. The fantastic news is that we have raised over £5,000 so far – and a huge amount of awareness too.”

Rosie Valerio, Chair of Sheffield Young Carers said: “We can’t thank the High Sheriff enough for her tireless commitment to Sheffield’s young carers. The event was hugely successful, raising an incredible amount of money and bringing together an extremely supportive group of people – many of whom were completely unaware of our work beforehand.

“We plan to build on the High Sheriff’s hard work to raise even more awareness of the issues facing young carers – some of the Sheffield’s most vulnerable children and young people.”

To find out more about Sheffield Young Carers, visit www.sheffieldyoungcarers.org.uk or follow @SheffYoungC on Twitter.