Our appeal to help the young carers of Sutton is now four months old and around £12,000 to the good.

That is cash that will provide a number of young people, all with responsibilities well beyond their years, with the chance to enjoy the things their peers take for granted.

This could be something as small as a trip to the cinema. Or it could be a holiday abroad, such as the carers' fantastic weekend in Paris, taking in the Eiffel Tower and the obligatory bout of shopping.

The trip took 10 months of planning and fundraising by the carers and the Cheam Rotary Club to find the necessary £16,000.

We've gained the support of a pub, a club, a shopping centre, a couple's estate and various individuals.

The money has come in through big fundraising efforts, sponsored events, competitions and one-off donations, and there is a long list of people to thank.

Carshalton Beeches Rotary Club gave our appeal the kick-start it needed with a fantastic £9,000 fillip - raised from its annual Concert in the Park.

We also had a little help from The Old Drill in Worcester Park. Staff were so convinced of the worth of the cause that they put a collection box for the Young Carers Project on the bar.

But that was not enough for them, so they enlisted the help of that old fundraising favourite - the karaoke evening - and raised a further £324.

Banstead resident Kathryn Priest put her best foot forward in the Flora Light 5km Women's Challenge in September and raised £80.

The estate of a late Sutton couple - a Mr and Mrs Bastin - donated £1,000 to the cause, its trustees said the project was exactly the sort of cause they would have wanted to back.

And then the Guardian and our sister paper The Sutton Comet got in the act, running a competition with the Times Square shopping centre and McKinnon Motors, Wallington, to win a car.

Readers paid a £1 to guess six Sutton landmarks in the hope of winning a Peugeot, but it was 21-year-old Wallington bank clerk Lisa Buckenham who drove a way in the brand new 206. More to the point, the competition raised a fantastic £1,000 for the appeal.

And there is more to come. A fortnight ago, we announced year 9 pupils at Stanley Park High School had selected the project as their charity for the year. They will be raising money in a raft of events until the end of the school year in July.

But it has not been just about the money - our appeal has been as much about awareness raising as fundraising.

We have tried to boost awareness through carer profiles, showing the day-to-day realities of looking after a loved-one while you are still in need of being looked after yourself.

We have so far met four young carers - Sylvana Dimambro, 12, 15-year-old Hannah Curry, Daniel Kemp, who is just six, and 12-year-old Naomi Jeyeraj.

Though each had a unique story to tell, faced different responsibilities and cared for loved-ones with different conditions, there were a number of constants in the four stories.

Some, mainly those that concerned the young carers' attitudes, actions and characters, were positive. Each displayed a selflessness of astounding proportions, started caring for their loved-ones almost instinctively and without prompting and were completely committed to their caring roles.

But there were negatives too. All four had experienced bullying at school where their peer groups had been far from understanding of their situations and responsibilities, and they are not alone.

As reported on November 29, a report published by the Princess Royal Trust - the body which runs the project - found more than seven in every 10 young carers had been bullied at school.

But all four carers we spoke to said the project itself had been an invaluable aid in tackling the negative implications of their roles.

And next year the project will be looking to start up some group meetings to discuss the emotional aspects of caring.

Regular fixtures in our series of articles have been the project's two permanent members of staff, Gillian Marchant and Lucy Dean.

Last week we reported on the crowning glory of Lucy's first year as activities co-ordinator - the inaugural Christmas Show - while Gillian's tireless work has been evident throughout.

But the project cannot survive without its committed band of volunteers, three of whom we met on September 20, whose contributions included driving carers to activities, supervising and befriending them.

We plan to do more awareness raising in the New Year - but we would also dearly like to raise a little bit more money for what is a very deserving cause.

December 17, 2001 11:30