On Men’s Radio Station this week, Anna Kennedy OBE and Lauren Lovejoy were both invited as guests for an anti-bullying ‘Give Us A Break‘ special one-hour radio show to help with the UK charity campaign.
Lauren Lovejoy spoke about her experiences of being bullied in the past and how she was targeted for being different. Lauren wasn’t diagnosed on the spectrum until she was 14 years old.
Lauren was emotional when she spoke about a past experience when she was 11 years old. She spoke about the impact of being continuously bullied and how it can lead you to travel through to the depths of despair. If it wasn’t for her dinner lady at school, she would not be with us today.
Radio listeners sent many messages of support and Anna Kennedy commented on how brave she was to share such a stressful personal experience.
Lauren previously shared with Anna: ‘Bullying in those days was not addressed as rigorously as it is now and I wish the teaching staff at my primary and secondary school had recognised that I had mental health issues and supported me accordingly.
‘I am supporting ‘Give Us a Break’ charity anti-bullying campaign this year, because it is a subject very close to my heart.
‘I was a victim of being bullied and want to help prevent this from happening and to share positive messages out there so victims can know they are not alone and that things will get better. I look forward to performing again in the near future at Autism’s Got Talent as I truly admire and respect Anna Kennedy for all she does and the opportunities she gives people like me.’
During the show, Anna asked Lauren live on air to be an ambassador.
Anna shared: ‘After today’s powerful, emotional interview on Men’s Radio Station with Russell Kane and Phil Dave, I felt compelled to ask Lauren on the show to be one of my ambassadors.’
Anna brought this announcement forward since she was going to ask Lauren next year. Lauren accepted and is so happy to be part of the AKO (Anna Kennedy Online) Team.
This week, Anna has also chosen seven young charity patrons to join her ever-growing AKO Charity family.
OJ Bridges
First of all, I want to just say that I am so honoured to be a part of the patron team for Anna Kennedy Online. It is such a great achievement and can now be a massive highlight to my life.
I feel so proud and will hold this young patron title with such pride and joy. I’ve loved working with Anna at autism’s got talent and to now support the charity even further is beyond a dream, it is an amazing thing to happen.
I think what I can bring to AKO is that I can spread awareness of the charity through friend groups, social clubs, school and anywhere else I can, really. I think I can also bring a lot of motivation and empowerment as when I need to be there for people or need to speak about things. I am very passionate and motivational in what I say.
Josh Burgess
I’m amazed, I feel very proud to have been chosen to represent Anna Kennedy online. I feel like its a great opportunity to give back to the charity that has helped and supported me, and my family.
I hope to give others like me that have autism along with other medical conditions, a voice and inspiration, that anything is possible no matter the challenges you face if you have the determination and the right support.
T’mya Fyffe
T’mya shared that she feels so excited about being chosen to be one of the new young patrons for the charity and is looking forward to supporting Anna Kennedy Online to raise autism awareness and funding.
T’mya feels she can help change peoples view of autism and hopes to inspire other young people like herself to teach for their dreams.
Daisy Hutchinson
Daisy shared: ‘I am over the moon in being chosen to be a patron for the Anna Kennedy charity. Thank you so much for choosing me. This will be a wonderful opportunity. I hope the charity benefits from my bubbly, enthusiastic and imaginative personality. I will enjoy being part of this wonderful charity.
Logan Hull
Thank you so much I am flabbergasted to be chosen! I can’t wait to show people autism can be a positive ability. I’m looking forward to helping raise autism awareness.
Callum Kirrage
Callum shared: I am so happy and proud to be chosen to be a young patron for Anna Kennedy Online.
This charity has helped me a lot and given me lots of opportunities and helped me believe in myself more and given me confidence, I want to help other people to understand that being different is ok and for people to stop judging and accept people for who they are and that you should not let people stop you from doing what you want to do.
Jack Azagury-Slattery
Jack’s Mum shared: Jack understands the importance of being kind to people and he can express a lot of empathy most of the times.
I told him that we were going to help your charity and help children and he gave me the biggest smile. He said: ‘Can I help the children with my drawings? I want to make them smile and make them happy.’
Jack’s communication skills are good but limited, he can often engage well in a conversation but he does need guidance from us. Jack will often surprise us and can be very eloquent as well.
One thing we can say about Jack is that he is not shy, he loves talking to people, engaging with them with our help and during all the interviews he has done (radio or live), he has always managed to catch people’s attention, bring some humour and make people smile.
He is very honest and often people love that.
