GURPREET’S WINNING DESIGN AIDS CHARITY
The finger painting skills of an eight-year-old Bushey girl will be gracing thousands of greetings cards this Christmas. Profoundly disabled Gurpreet Juttla was a winner in a national Mencap competition and now the cards are being sold through the John Lewis Partnership to raise money for the charity.
Gurpreet is a pupil at Meadow Wood School in Coldharbour Lane which supports children who have a physical and neurological impairment. She also attends the Watford Mencap Children’s Centre at the Lemarie Centre in North Watford.
She has been a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London since she was born and has undergone a series of life saving operations including open heart surgery.
Despite her disability, her infectious smile and bubbly personality have made her a hit with everyone at the school. That includes her Learning Support Assistant, Lorraine Smith, who helped Gurpreet develop her finger painting talents.
The judges included Mencap ambassador and star of the BBC's Gavin and Stacey, Mathew Horne and The X Factor runner-up and winner of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here, Stacey Solomon.
Gurpreet’s mum, Satnam, said: “She was only just recovering from her operation when the school learned about the competition which had 400 entries. I am very grateful to everyone who has helped her.”
The cards are available from larger John Lewis Stores in London or from www.johnlewis.com (search for Mencap cards) and Mencap will get 37p for each pack that is sold.
Posted on Monday, 21st November 2011