Charity Meningitis Now has announced that it is making Bath’s Harmonie-Rose Allen its first Junior Ambassador.
Photo © Meningitis Now
Timed to coincide with the anniversary of the date when Harmonie contracted meningitis in 2014, she took up her new role yesterday, Monday 28th September.
In a move that is unprecedented, the charity’s CEO, Dr Tom Nutt, said: “The charity wanted to find a way to recognise the contribution that Harmonie and her family – mum and dad Freya and Ross and aunties Jessica and Hannah – have made to fighting meningitis in the UK and in their efforts to raise much needed funds for a range of charities. This award seems both fitting and appropriate.”
Harmonie-Rose first came to the attention of the charity in September 2014, when it received a call confirming that a 10-month-old baby had been rushed to Royal United Hospital in Bath with suspected meningitis.
A diagnosis was quickly confirmed and was one that ultimately led to Harmonie losing her arms and legs to the disease.
Meningitis Now founder Steve Dayman rushed to visit Harmonie in the hospital, offering help and support to the family as they dealt with what is every parent’s worst nightmare.
“The resilience of the family shone through even at this early stage of their experience,” said Steve.
“And within what seems like no time at all, the family was helping the charity in one of its biggest battles – the fight to secure the introduction of the vaccine for MenB, the strain that ironically almost took Harmonie’s life.”
Helping to secure the life-saving vaccine marked the start of a journey that would see Harmonie ‘bum shuffle’ across Westminster Hall to help the charity’s call in 2016 to extend the MenB vaccine to at-risk children up to the age of five, following the death of Faye Burdett, who was too old to receive the vaccine.
Since then, Harmonie has featured extensively across the charity’s campaign and awareness activities, including a starring role in the charity’s video to support World Meningitis Day 2018, where she helped viewers to learn the signs and symptoms of the disease.
Harmonie’s appearance was viewed over 88,000 times, the largest ever response to a meningitis video.
An ever-present personality in the battle to beat meningitis, Harmonie has made many appearances on regional and national TV.
In doing so, she has become an unofficial ambassador of the disease here in the UK, until now when she becomes Meningitis Now’s first and only Junior Ambassador.
In recent Covid-19 times, Harmonie’s unique ability was thrust centre stage when she agreed to help Meningitis Now with its 2.6 Challenge – a national appeal to help charities across the UK deal with the financial impact of lockdown.
“There are many other things that Harmonie, Freya, Ross, and Hannah have done for a range of charities,” said Tom Nutt, “and always with a willingness and sense of fun that belies the incredible challenges that they face.
“It is always humbling to be part of their efforts to help protect others from meningitis, and in many ways making Harmonie our first Junior Ambassador is the least we can do.
“Steve Dayman talks about the family’s resilience shining through when he first met them in 2014 – little did he or the family know how truly inspirational this little girl would turn out to be.”
