TWO inspirational young people from Barry are up for Tenovus Volunteer Awards, in recognition of their work with the charity.

Volunteers retail assistants Sophie Woodham and Rhys Kerslake have been nominated in the Boldest and Young Volunteer of the Year categories respectively.

A spokesman for Tenovus said: "Sophie was born with Spina Bifida and will be using a wheelchair for life.

"Sophie is such a brave young woman, managing constant pain as a result of her condition, but she puts that aside to come and volunteer with Tenovus at our shop in Barry four days each week.

"Sophie puts her dressing up skills to good use, fundraising for us on as many occasions as possible.

"However, for the October Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, she came up with a particularly brave fundraising idea and got sponsored to have a pink ribbon tattooed on her stomach.

"Sophie’s dedication is an inspiration to young people and her motto is 'if you can dream it, you can do it' which of course she applies to everything she does for Tenovus."

Talking about Rhys they said: "Rhys regularly volunteers at the Barry Tenovus Shop. When Rhys came to us in October 2013 he was shy, lacking confidence and self-esteem.

"He is now a changed person, and this has been due to volunteering with Tenovus. The Shop Manager has been so impressed by Rhys’ performance that he is putting him through for his retail management training.

"Rhys has been a fantastic advocate of the charity and volunteering, speaking about his experiences and the positive effect that volunteering has had on him at an event in front of 150 delegates

Rhys is one in a million. When he could be out playing football with his friends, he chooses to come in and volunteer four days a week, treating his peers with respect and learning from them constantly.

"He is also a great fundraiser, dressing up as Santa, Elvis, Tinkerbell and Dolly Parton, to name just a few. He has raised much needed funds for Tenovus and promotes the charity at every opportunity, always trying to recruit more volunteers to join him."

The Tenovus Volunteer Awards 2014 will this year take place on July 10 at St David’s Hotel and Spa, Cardiff Bay.