Big-hearted Scots are set to take the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain awards by storm tonight.
Two very different charity campaigners are in line for gongs.
Aged just nine, fundraiser hero Aaron Hunter has already persuaded Hollywood royalty to jump in a puddle to raise cash for his rare condition.
He suffers from Rohhad, which causes children to rapidly gain weight, have breathing difficulties and develop problems with their other organs.
Aaron uses a wheelchair, an oxygen mask and is fed through a tube.
Three years ago, he came up with his own version of the ice bucket challenge – the muddy puddle challenge – to spread the word about Rohhad.
He challenged his favourite superhero, Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr, to make a splash for his charity.
Earlier this year, Aaron and his family travelled to London to meet the actor, who donated £150,000 to help to find a cure.
The Rohhad Association, set up by Aaron’s family, has now raised £300,000. It is funding three separate projects, two in Europe and one in the US, to find the cause of the condition.
Their next target is to raise another £300,000 to complete the research.
Aaron is too ill to walk down the red carpet at the ceremony.
He can’t fly and is travelling by train to London from his home in Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, with his parents, sister Lauren, 15, and two carers.
Mum Elisabeth said: “This award is a positive thing for him to focus on as he’s quite poorly at the moment.
“His disease is progressing and his quality of life is not great.
“His motivation is to help the other Rohhad children. He knows what it is like to live with this debilitating disease on a daily basis.”
When he comes back from London, Aaron faces major surgery and a long spell in hospital.
His breathing is now so poor that he needs a tracheotomy. He will then be on a ventilator.
Elisabeth added: “As his mum, it’s devastating to watch him suffer.
“His desire to help the other children, how selfless and brave he is, inspires all of us to keep going and do the same.”
The other Scots up for honours in London are Josh Littlejohn and Alice Thompson, co-founder of Social Bite.
In nine years, their social enterprise sandwich shop in Edinburgh has grown into a major social business with five cafes across the UK.
This year, their annual Sleep in the Park event is going global.
Volunteers from 50 cities will spend the night in a sleeping bag to raise £40million for local charities and global initiatives.
Closer to home, they have built the Social Bite Village, in Edinburgh’s Granton, to give 20 homeless people a home.
