Abby Smith, Mason Allsopp (corr) and Lewis Buttery have all been given Inspire Awards.

Inspire is a small grants scheme organised by local charity the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT). Inspire Awards are designed to help young people reach their goals in the fields of art, community endeavour, music, sport and business.

Abby, Mason and Lewis have all developed their artistic talents by working with another local charity and social enterprise, Soft Touch Arts. Soft Touch gives young people a brighter future by developing their skills through arts, media and music activities.

Now the trio are looking to make the next step in developing their talents, so the JHMT's Inspire Awards panel of judges stepped in to help them out.

Abby Smith, 20, is keen to develop her digital photography skills for herself and create an online exhibition space for others, so that other young people have somewhere to showcase their talents.

She asked the Inspire Awards for a £300 grant to help her buy a laptop where she could store key pieces of artwork, write blogs and promote herself to a wider audience.

Abby said: "I see this laptop as a major stepping stone to a brighter future for me. This vital piece of IT equipment will help me to develop my own creative ideas and products as well as going on to hopefully create my own website.

"I will engage with other young people and encourage them to add their own artwork to the blog. Soft Touch Arts has a lot of disadvantaged young people who come along with nowhere to put their artwork or to tell their story. I hope to help them exhibit their work."

Nineteen-year-old Mason Allsopp has been given an Inspire Awards grant for £250 to help him set up in business.

Mason, a talented illustrator, wants to create his own web-comic and hobby art website, taking commissions and being hired for events. But he needs capital to get him started – which is where the Inspire Awards come in.

Mason said: "This grant will give me a great helping hand to achieve my ambitions and dreams. It will give me a boost to get myself out there.

"I can now buy the equipment that I'll need – everything from pens, pencil and paper to a computer scanner and art programs – as well as using the grant to print business cards and start to advertise my services. I'll also be able to attend conventions, set up my own stand and promote and sell my artwork."

Lewis Buttery, aged 20, is a budding photographer who recently honed his skills taking pictures of the Gateley Plc Inspire Awards dinner, a VIP event which raised money for the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust.

Lewis has spent the past two years building a portfolio, developing an online presence and building up contacts in the local arts and business community. But he knew that to progress further, he would need good quality equipment, including a professional DSLR camera.

Lewis said: "The Inspire Awards gave me a grant of £300, and it means the world to me. I'm at a vital stage in my career where I'm trying to fulfil my potential as a quality and professional photographer.

"The award is the difference between riding the momentum that I have created and being pushed further along my career path, or being held back for another year or so. I'm so glad to get this award."

Rhonda Olsen is on the panel of judges for the Inspire Awards. She said: "We're delighted to be supporting these three talented young people – and to be supporting the work of Soft Touch.

"Each of these awards is special. Abby's is special because she plans to help others; Mason's is special because it will help him take his first steps in the business world, and Lewis's is special because it will allow him to build on the networks he's already established as a photographer.

"The Inspire Awards were set up last year in memory of Rothley teenager Joe Humphries, who collapsed and died from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) in 2012.

Inspire Awards help young people to achieve the potential that tragically Joe and other young victims of SADS never get to fulfil.

Steve Humphries, chair of the JHMT, added: "We are delighted that the Inspire Awards is attracting applications from such talented and deserving young people as Abby, Mason and Lewis.

"Joe was very passionate about the arts himself so it's particularly pleasing that we can make these awards and help these young people on the road to success."

As well as running the Inspire Awards, the JHMT provides a training programme in vital CPR resuscitation skills for sports clubs and schools.

The Trust campaigns for a greater awareness and understanding of sudden heart deaths, and for more defibrillators in community locations.

It also runs an annual conference aimed at medical professionals and, this year, at sports coaches and sports teachers too – to help put SADS on the agenda and talk about ways of improving both survival rates and rates of CPR training amongst the public.

To find out more, visit www.jhmt.org.uk