THE mum of an Altrincham schoolboy who died of cancer has been recognised for her charitable fundraising and volunteering.

Michelle Mulholland, 51, whose son Chad, died aged 17, from Hodgkin's Lymphoma, in 2008, was awarded the British Citizen Award for her efforts along with Gill Williamson, an administrator at Altrincham Grammar, where the teen had gone to school.

Michelle started The Hope Fund to keep his name alive and since then, she and Gill have worked hard to raise money with the help and support of his former school through Chad’s Challenges, which have been running for the past nine years. It has raised in excess of £89,000 towards the £100,000 target.

Throughout his illness, Chad was known for having remained positive, managing to find the strength to not only take his GCSEs - gaining 10 A*s but also to organise a tea party to raise money for the Willow Foundation, a charity that offers respite to seriously ill young people.

Even when the Hodgkins Lymphoma came back for the fourth time in September 2007, he still found the strength to sit an A Level in further maths, obtaining an A grade just one week before he died in August 2008 and two-and-a-half weeks before his 18th birthday.

Gill had regular contact with Chad during his time at the school and helped him to organise the tea party fundraiser.

Every year, Gill puts a call out to students to ask for volunteers to be on the Chad’s Challenges committee. The committee which raise funds in various ways.

So far, they have held around 100 different events, which have so far included cake sales, bike rides, a James Bond theme night, fashion shows, charity auctions and an annual tea party.

Money raised through fund goes directly to the Palatine Treatment Centre at The Christie Hospital, in Manchester, which is where Chad fought his battle with cancer. The pair have also raised money for other charities, including the Willow Foundation, Prevent Breast Cancer, St Ann’s Hospice, Francis House hospice, Macmillan Cancer Care and Prostate Cancer UK.

Michelle said: “I really shy away from the limelight and am quite reserved so I was a little nervous when I was told about the award.

“I do what I do because it’s my way of keeping my son’s memory alive. I just thought that as Chad wanted to raise money for others, it was something I could carry on with and something I wanted to do for him.

“I’m sure Chad would be very proud of what we’ve achieved in his name and I hope he is watching over us and approving of it all. Not only have we been able to keep Chad’s memory alive, I also feel like I have benefitted hugely from a great friendship with Gill.”

Gill added: “We owe a lot to the support of our loyal and loving families, without which we could not put the time and enthusiasm into the planning and running of the events. They also always “willingly” take part and have fun too. They are Michelle’s husband Andrew and daughters Pia and Tilly and Gill’s husband Peter and daughters Emma and Victoria.

Michelle and Gill will be amongst 30 medallists next Thursday (July 6) who will be honoured at the national ceremony held at the Palace of Westminster.