Havant teen's pride at honour for her work beating bullies

Chloe Hine launched the Beat The Bullies charity last summer, inspired by her own bad experiences.

Now the 16-year-old has been made an #iwill ambassador for youth social action at a ceremony at the House of Commons.

She was selected as one of 50 ambassadors for the #iwill campaign, run by charity Step Up To Serve to help young people engage in social action.

Chloe, from Havant, said: ‘I’m so happy to become one of the new #iwill ambassadors to spread the word of the benefits of youth social action.

‘I feel empowered and motivated not just to do better for myself, but for others like me too.

‘I will commit to my goal of preventing suicide from the effects of bullying and help young people to turn their negativity into positivity, bringing people together through music and social media.’

The event started #iwillweek, a national celebration of young people making a difference in their communities.

The event also saw the launch of a multimillion-pound fund for youth social action programmes following a £40m investment from government and the Big Lottery Fund.

After the ceremony at the House of Commons, Chloe met Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, who presented the ambassadors with their certificates.

Adele said: ‘So many young people across the UK are getting involved every day in inspirational activity supporting others in their communities.

‘Some of them are now young ambassadors for the #iwill campaign, and meeting them was so incredible.

‘We need as many people as possible to get behind the #iwill campaign to unlock more opportunities for young people across the UK to get involved.’

This is the third year the #iwill campaign has acknowledged young ambassadors, thanks to funding from the Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues.

These ambassadors will celebrate and champion the role that young people can play in making a difference to their community through volunteering, campaigning or fundraising.

Professor James Arthur, director of the Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues, at the University of Birmingham, said: ‘Young people who get involved in social action are having a positive impact on people around them, but at the same time are also benefitting themselves through the development of character virtues including humility, service and resilience.’