Poetry winner gives her prize to charity

A 15-YEAR-old Tavistock College pupil is donating the prize she won in a regional poetry competition to a charity which is close to her heart.

Talented Emma Pullar, who writes with a maturity beyond her years, is giving the £50 cash prize to SURF (Service User Recovery Forum) which helps people with mental health problems.

Emma's mother, Claire, who has post traumatic stress disorder, has helped form the charity under the umbrella of Rethink, to encourage the artistic abilities of people who, though mental illness, cannot express themselves in public.

Emma also has an autistic brother and has been instrumental in helping to set up the SURF exhibition at the Wharf in Tavistock which runs until the end of the month. She also helps at the town's Make A Difference café.

Her prize in the 'Speak Up Somerset' competition on the theme of 'Resolution' was presented at a special festival in Taunton to mark World Mental Health Day last week. Emma was given permission to take the day off school by her teachers so she could attend.

Claire said: 'The judges were surprised when they found out how young Emma was. Her poetry for her age is outstanding and she won the prize on her own merit.

'Poetry is what she enjoys and she has a lot of empathy with people who have mental health problems. She is a very caring, unselfish person and is absolutely fantastic with her brother.'

Mrs Pullar expressed thanks to the pupils of Tavistock College who had helped with the exhibition and were holding various events like a Bollywood party and sponsored silence to raise money and raise awareness of World Mental Health Day.