THE father of an inspirational Dedham boy who raised £250,000 for charity before he died, aged just 15, has been honoured at a special awards.
Noah, from Dedham, was known by his nickname ‘Background Bob’.
His artwork helped raise £250,000 for the Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity.
Noah died in November last year.
He had hydrocephalus, epilepsy and cerebral palsy, so had begun fundraising to help the hospital trust which treated him.
In May 2020, during the first Covid-19 lockdown, Noah then 11, started to paint on carboard to pass the time at home.
Dad Nathan Jones then appealed on social media for artists to finish Noah’s pictures, which sparked a worldwide reaction.
This was followed by three exhibitions at Colchester's Firstsite gallery, with celebrities such as Ed Sheeran, Joy Lycett and Grayson Perry becoming involved.
Nathan was one of eight winners at this year's BBC Essex Make a Difference Awards in Hatfield Peverel.
He was nominated by sports promotor Eddie Hearn, and presented with his award by Southend United FC Kevin Maher.
Nathan said: “It’s always lovely to be recognised for all the efforts we’ve made over the last three years during the Background Bob project.
“Although I was nominated, we all know that Noah was the real front man of our fundraising, so I’d like to dedicate this to him
"It was an honour just to be nominated in a really strong group of brilliant fundraisers.
"It’s truly amazing the lengths people go to help others. It was inspiring and heart-warming to spend an evening celebrating so many magnificent people."
Nathan said the £250,000 raised for the Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity has been able to fund a completely new sensory room and will “totally revamp” the gardens on the children’s ward.
He added: “As a family we spent a lot of time in hospital and it was important for us to improve areas where kids and parents could have some fun time, away from the ward and hospital bed.
“Hopefully these new areas will do that.”
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