Lily Donavon has been recognised for her “outstanding efforts” in spreading awareness of those who are hard of hearing

Lily Donavon with her Jack Petchey Award and (jnset) working a dog groomer at Capel Manor

An Enfield student has won a Jack Petchey Achievement Award for teaching sign language to her fellow students and staff at Capel Manor College.

Lily Donavon, aged 19, studies dog grooming at the Bulls Cross college and has been recognised for her “outstanding efforts” in spreading awareness of those who are hard of hearing and for helping others learn British Sign Language (BSL).

As part of Deaf Awareness Week last week, Lily shared the story of her journey to winning the award and her plans for the future. She said: “I was born deaf and at the age of 4 I had cochlear implant fitted on my left-hand side.

“I found it difficult to make new friends as communicating with hearing people can be challenging, but I am a happy and confident person and will always try to express myself.”

For the past four years Lily has worked at a dog grooming parlour in Essex, and is now studying at Capel Manor College in Enfield to become a professional dog groomer.

Speaking about the transition from going from a deaf school where BSL was the main language to one where spoken English was the norm, Lily said, “I had to adapt. But I wanted to break down barriers and teach other people, students and staff a little bit about deaf culture and BSL.

“I have achieved this by increasing the visibility of challenges the deaf community face and educated others on how they can support them. The deaf community includes people who are hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf-blind and deaf-disabled and more. These experiences are not all the same.”

This proactive nature saw Lily hold a number of sessions to teach BSL sign language to both staff and students. Students have said that the training sessions were fantastic and how good of a teacher she was. With her passion and positive attitude, Lily has become an inspiration to those around her. This is what led to her peers nominating her for the achievement award.

With the grant that she received from the Jack Petchey Foundation for winning her award, Lily took her class on an educational trip to Hertfordshire Zoo. There, she was fortunate enough to have a wild-wolf experience where she fed the wolves, which has inspired her further to contemplate opening up her own dog grooming business once she finishes her studies.

The teenager was among 160 other young people aged from eleven to 25 from Enfield to recently received a Jack Petchey Achievement Award across two nights. Winners received medallions and framed certificates from the foundation, along with a £300 grant to spend for the benefit of their school, college or youth organisation.

Sir Jack founded the Jack Petchey Foundation in 1999 to recognise the positive contributions young people make to society and to support them in achieving their potential. Since then the foundation has invested over £170m in programmes and partnerships that have directly benefitted almost 1.2 million young people across London and Essex.

Enfield has received almost £2million since foundation started. Mayor of Enfield Suna Hurman said: “It was amazing, really talented youth. Best of luck to each one of them.”

Sir Jack Petchey CBE, 98, added: “I am passionate about our awards scheme which enables young people to be recognised, valued and rewarded for their achievements and positive contributions to society.”

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