The origins of the Phoenix Project go back to 2008. That was the year that I first began my ITV Fixers project, creating a short video to bring traffic to the website that I’d started, which would contain the elements of the site you’re now on. As I was 17, my identity was legally obliged to remain anonymous. Well, not anymore! I would also like to point out that, to increase anonymity, they pitch-bended my voice. Here’s the first ever vid, as it appeared on telly:

… in 2009, I was invited to speak at a young person’s event by Inner Flame. That was recorded too. It was the first time I appeared fully identifiable, as I had recently turned 18:

Later the same year, I won the V National Tranform Award for ‘exceptional community impact.’ The ceremony took place at the O2 arena in London. Here’s me winning (read: a SMASHINGLY good night!):

… Somewhere in between all this happening, my story was featured in my local paper, the Daily Echo. You can read the article here.

Then came 2010. In that year, I was named national woman of courage by bestselling author, Lesley Pearse. Fixers wrote an article about this.

Me winning the woman of courage award

… I also featured in Cosmopolitan’s October issue in 2010.

My appearance in Cosmopolitan magazine (October 2010)

Finally, somewhere along the line I became an ambassador of the Rose Road Association, a charity that supports children with severe and complex disabilities, in my hometown in Southampton.