The Inspire Awards dinner, funded and hosted by law firm, Gateley Plc, took place at Leicester Tigers on 24 June, in aid of charity the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT).

JHMT runs the Inspire Awards, a small grants scheme for young people that provides funds and mentoring to help them on their journeys in the worlds of sport, arts, music, community involvement and business.

Since its launch last year, the Inspire Awards have handed out 28 grants to deserving young people – some of whom attended the dinner to tell their stories.

Lydia Unsudimi (corr), age 20, from Leicester, got an Inspire Award of £250 to buy equipment to help her music career.

Lydia, a talented singer and music-writer, performed at the Inspire Awards dinner and said: "'I love to entertain and spread positivity with good, wholesome music. I used my Inspire Award to buy an amplifier and I busk for charities.

"Getting this award has pushed me to work hard and proved to me that my dreams can turn into a reality. This grant helps me promote my music not only in Leicester, but across the nation.'

Also attending on the night, to talk about his experiences, was 15-year-old Ryanvir Singh, a leading and passionate advocate for young people's rights in Leicester.

In 2012, Ryanvir and some of his friends set up the 'Big Stop' campaign, aimed at stopping bullying. Recently, Ryanvir held an empowerment event, called 'Leicester's WE Day', inviting 450 children and young people to attend workshops and presentations aimed at combatting bullying and discrimination.

Ryanvir got a grant of £500 from the Inspire Awards to help him stage the event, and said: "I'm immensely proud to have got an Inspire Award. These funds helped make our WE Day a success and helped us speed up our efforts to empower young people to take action against bullying."

Simon Taylor, a partner at Gateley Plc, helped set up the Inspire Awards and is on the awards panel. He said: "I'm so pleased that we can support these ambitious and talented young people through the Inspire Awards and it was fantastic to have them as guests at our dinner.

"Gateley is delighted to have partnered with this charity once again.

"The Inspire Awards are well named, because the young people who get them truly do inspire us – we never fail to be amazed by the commitment, dedication and drive they show in pursuit of their goals. It's an honour to be able to help them."

Also among the 250 guests attending the Inspire Awards dinner were rugby legends Martin Corry and Martin Johnson, who is patron of the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust.

The dinner included a silent auction and raffle, raising more than £5,000 to be put towards future Inspire Awards and the work of the JHMT.

The dinner was also made possible with the kind support of Leicester Tigers, who have made the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust one of their charities of the year.

The Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT) is a charity set up in memory of Leicester teenager Joe Humphries, who collapsed and died while out jogging. Joe was a victim of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) – a group of lethal heart diseases which can cause sudden cardiac death in young people.

Steve Humphries from the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust said: "We're so grateful to Gateley for the tremendous support and commitment they show to the Inspire Awards and JHMT.

"They get involved not just in raising funds for us, but also in helping us to distribute our awards to deserving young people. They are truly our partners in Inspire, and we look forward to working with them in the future to ensure even more local young people get the help they need to fulfil their ambitions – something which, tragically, Joe and other victims of lethal heart diseases don't get to do."

To apply for an Inspire Award or find out more about the work of the JHMT, visit www.jhmt.org.uk