Latest news with #Gazzard
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Organ donation event celebrates tenth anniversary
One of Exmouth's most respected all-day charity-fundraising events is celebrating its tenth anniversary in July. Event organiser, Steve Gazzard, says he wants to make this year's organ donation awareness fundraiser 'really special' and is hoping to boost the £35,000 that he's already raised for medical research during the past decade. But to do so, he needs more local traders and charities to book a stall. He's asking for tombola prizes, and he's hopeful classic car owners may also offer their vehicles for display. He's also committed to continuing his campaign for organ donor sign-up until the law on organ donation is 'crystal-clear'. The National Organ Donor and Transplant Awareness Event is in The Strand, Exmouth on Saturday July 26, 10am-4pm. There is also a sign-up event in Exmouth this Saturday, May 31. It's in memory of Exmouth mother Sarah Wright, who died of a rare lung condition in November 2012, aged just 37. Ever since her death, her father, Steve Gazzard, has campaigned to raise awareness of the chronic lung condition Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) that Sarah died of and to encourage people to sign up to organ donation. Sarah had been on a waiting list for a double-lung transplant that could have saved her life, but no suitable donor could be found. Instead, Sarah donated her own organs on the night she died, saving the lives of three other people. Now, nearly 13 years after his daughter's death and with the tenth anniversary of the charity event in her memory fast approaching, Mr Gazzard is pulling out all the stops. 'It's a big occasion, so we want to make it really special,' said Mr Gazzard. 'It's my intention for this to be a fun day, but also with a serious message.' Mr Gazzard says he needs more stalls to be booked as currently he has plenty of availability. 'We're in May now, and it won't be long before the event is here, so we want to make it a good turnout. 'We're also looking for people who could donate prizes – we have a massive tombola stall – and for anyone that's got a classic car that could come down for the day. Classic cars are a real pull.' Mr Gazzard says he's hopeful that the fire brigade and local police will attend, but it will depend on 'operational needs'. Money raised from the event will go towards the Sarah Wright Research Programme, which is seeking a cure for IPF. 'Over the last 10 years we've collected nearly £35,000, which is amazing,' said Mr Gazzard. 'Unfortunately, the disease is transferring from the older generation to the younger generation, and no one knows why. That's why I set up this research programme to see if they can find out why.' Another key purpose of the event is to raise the profile of the National Transplant Organ Donor Sign-Up Campaign. Although the law around organ donation changed in May 2020 – all adults in England are now considered as having agreed to donate their organs when they die unless they opt out – Mr Gazzard says some people are unaware of the changes. Some families have also been successful in overturning organ donation wishes. 'I thought 2020 would be the end of it,' he said, 'but unfortunately there are next of kin who are saying we didn't know about the change in the law and we didn't talk to our relatives about it. So, we've started the sign-ups again. 'We all do recycling at home. To me, organ donation is just another way of recycling. Sarah managed to donate her two kidneys and her liver and saved three people's lives, so she lives on in three other people. I won't give up the campaign of organ donor sign-up until the law is crystal-clear. But there's still a lot of work to do on that.' Potential stall holders, classic car owners, and those with tombola prizes for the fundraiser on July 26 should email Alternatively, please call Steve Gazzard on 07779 960199
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
'Teachers must respond to issues in Adolescence'
The father of a murdered young woman wants teachers to respond to issues raised in the TV series Adolescence such as toxic material on social media. Nick Gazzard's daughter Hollie, 20, was killed in the Gloucester hair salon where she worked in 2014 after ending a year-long relationship. The Netflix drama, which was set to be screened to all secondary schools in the UK, examines a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a girl from his class and explores themes of misogyny. Mr Gazzard said showing the series in schools was "great", but added teachers needed to "respond to those issues they're seeing". More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Adolescence has sparked a national conversation about the impact of social media and "manosphere" influencers, such as Andrew Tate, as well as language such as "incel". Incels, short for involuntary celibate, is a term used by men who blame women for their inability to find a sexual partner. It is an ideology that has been linked to terror attacks and killings in recent years such as the Plymouth shooting in 2022. Mr Gazzard told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "It [the series] brings a lot of issues, particularly around social media and the damage it does to young men. "A lot of people are aware of this but perhaps not aware of the depth and the damage it's causing." Mr Gazzard set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust following his daughter's death and has been campaigning about domestic abuse and stalking since. He was made an OBE by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on 28 March. He said the trust would support schools in helping teachers respond to "harmful damage" young men see on social media which is "causing violence against women and girls". "We're trying to bring it back from that damaging content which they're learning online," he said." Professor Adeela Shafi, professor of education in youth justice at the University of Gloucestershire, said the education was "really for us as society". "The cold language children may be using - that we as adults are completely outside of - we don't understand that," she said. "That's one of the most powerful things that's come through for us as parents." She added: "The overwhelming knowledge of how our children are exposed to things that we would never want them to be exposed to, and be exposed to things we wouldn't have even thought about when we were younger." Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Adolescence hard to watch as a dad, Starmer tells creators Netflix's Adolescence makes UK TV ratings history Parents should be aware of extremism, Met says 'I've not heard of incel before': Teenager dissects Adolescence with his worried parents The Hollie Gazzard Trust
BBC News
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Adolescence: 'School teachers must respond to toxic material'
The father of a murdered young woman wants teachers to respond to issues raised in the TV series Adolescence such as toxic material on social Gazzard's daughter Hollie, 20, was killed in the Gloucester hair salon where she worked in 2014 after ending a year-long Netflix drama, which was set to be screened to all secondary schools in the UK, examines a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a girl from his class and explores themes of Gazzard said showing the series in schools was "great", but added teachers needed to "respond to those issues they're seeing". Adolescence has sparked a national conversation about the impact of social media and "manosphere" influencers, such as Andrew Tate, as well as language such as "incel".Incels, short for involuntary celibate, is a term used by men who blame women for their inability to find a sexual partner. It is an ideology that has been linked to terror attacks and killings in recent years such as the Plymouth shooting in Gazzard told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "It [the series] brings a lot of issues, particularly around social media and the damage it does to young men. "A lot of people are aware of this but perhaps not aware of the depth and the damage it's causing." Mr Gazzard set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust following his daughter's death and has been campaigning about domestic abuse and stalking since. He was made an OBE by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on 28 said the trust would support schools in helping teachers respond to "harmful damage" young men see on social media which is "causing violence against women and girls"."We're trying to bring it back from that damaging content which they're learning online," he said."Professor Adeela Shafi, professor of education in youth justice at the University of Gloucestershire, said the education was "really for us as society"."The cold language children may be using - that we as adults are completely outside of - we don't understand that," she said."That's one of the most powerful things that's come through for us as parents."She added: "The overwhelming knowledge of how our children are exposed to things that we would never want them to be exposed to, and be exposed to things we wouldn't have even thought about when we were younger."
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Yahoo
Pictures as inspirational father from area gets honour in special ceremony
A FATHER whose daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend has warned that 'negative role models' create 'lots of pressures' for young men, as he was made an OBE at Buckingham Palace. Nick Gazzard, 60, set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust after her death in 2014, when she was stabbed to death by her ex-partner while working at a hair salon in Gloucester. Mr Gazzard has since dedicated his efforts to helping those affected by domestic abuse and stalking. Speaking on Friday at Buckingham Palace after he was made an OBE by the Princess Royal for 'services to tackling violence against women', Mr Gazzard stressed the importance of educating young people about gender-based and domestic violence. (Image: Jordan Pettitt) He said: 'It's 11 years since we've lost Hollie, and during that time we have made some progress, but it's the old adage of two steps forward, one step back. 'And the problem is not going away. 'We're treading water, I think, in that respect, and there's lots of pressures around at the moment, particularly for young men, with some of the role models that are out there, which are maybe a negative role model. 'So it's about trying to educate young people in particular, about what domestic abuse is, what stalking is, so that we can prevent individuals from becoming perpetrators.' Mr Gazzard, from Longlevens in Gloucestershire, added: 'But we can also actually get to victims when they're young, because they might not identify that they're being stalked or that they've been stalked, or they're being abused, because sometimes it can be very subtle in how it's done. 'So the younger we can talk to individuals, the more education we get out of there. 'Hopefully, we can prevent more people going through what Hollie went through.' Addressing the Government's commitment to tackling gender-based violence, with a 2024 report by the National Police Chiefs' Council describing the issue as a 'national emergency', Mr Gazzard said: 'The Government has a target of reducing violence against women and girls by 50% over the next 10 years. 'That's a hell of a challenge, and there's no silver bullet. 'They've got to involve all the agencies: Department of Health, the NHS, the MoJ (Ministry of Justice) – all these departments have to come together to actually have a co-ordinated approach to preventing violence against women.' Miss Gazzard was murdered, aged 20, four days after she ended her year-long relationship with her partner, during which she suffered repeated violence at his hands. The trust created in her name after her death focuses on prevention, education and raising awareness of domestic abuse and stalking. Mr Gazzard, who was made an OBE in the New Year Honours, said: 'It's a real honour to receive this on behalf of those individuals who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse and stalking, because we know how devastating it can be when you lose someone. 'Obviously that all stems back to what happened to Hollie. 'We always said that we would have a legacy for Hollie, and we want to do good work in the area to try and prevent the Hollies of the future happening.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Father of murdered girl made OBE for campaign work
The father of a young woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend has warned of the dangers of "negative role models" as he received his OBE. Nick Gazzard's daughter Hollie, 20, was killed in the Gloucester hair salon where she worked in 2014 after ending a year-long relationship. Mr Gazzard set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust following his daughter's death and has been campaigning about domestic abuse and stalking since. He was made an OBE by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on Friday. "We always said that we would have a legacy for Hollie, and we want to do good work in the area to try and prevent the Hollies of the future happening," he said. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Mr Gazzard stressed the importance of educating young people about gender-based and domestic violence. "It's 11 years since we've lost Hollie, and during that time we have made some progress, but it's the old adage of two steps forward, one step back. "And the problem is not going away." He warned that "negative role models" can create issues for young men. "There's lots of pressures around at the moment, particularly for young men, with some of the role models that are out there. "So it's about trying to educate young people in particular, about what domestic abuse is so that we can prevent individuals from becoming perpetrators", he added. Mr Gazzard, who lives in Longlevens, Gloucester, said it was also important to teach young people about stalking. "We can get to victims when they're young, because they might not identify that they're being stalked or that they've been stalked, or they're being abused, because sometimes it can be very subtle in how it's done," he said. "The younger we can talk to individuals, the more education we get out of there. "Hopefully, we can prevent more people going through what Hollie went through." On receiving his OBE, Mr Gazzard said: "It's a real honour to receive this on behalf of those individuals who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse and stalking, because we know how devastating it can be when you lose someone." Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Murder victim's family hosting active bystander event Murder victim's dad 'proud' 10 years after her death Lessons in memory of killed daughter 'saving lives'
