Disney honours Upper Beeding girl for her courage and kindness in Ultimate Princess Celebration supported by Katie Piper

Izzy Randall braved the shave for her 12th birthday to raise money for Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice, which cares for her brother Luke, and was honoured by Disney for her thoughtfulness.

She is one of 14 children from around the world to be chosen for a dedication in the new digital storybook collection, Tales of Courage and Kindness.

The story chosen for her was Mulan, who inspires bravery from others through her own courage and kindness.

Izzy said: “I honestly didn’t expect it. I feel really honoured to have been chosen by Disney for this dedication.

“I think Mulan was really brave to go to war instead of her father. She wanted to protect him, so she disguised herself as a boy and went in his place. I feel very protective of my brother Luke because of his disabilities and I always want to look after him and support my parents, too. I would like to think that I could be as brave as Mulan.”

Izzy has been home educated since she was in year five. Now in year eight, she does lots of lessons at Rackham Pathfinders, a home education charity run by parents.

She said: “I have some great friends there. We do all the usual lessons, like maths and English, but we also do lots of other great stuff like going on walks around Sussex, going on trips to historic sites. We also try to look after the environment and we are doing a beach clean in Lancing.”

For her 12th birthday last May, Izzy decided to ask for donations to Chestnut Tree House instead of presents. She also raised more than £500 by having her hair shaved off.

Izzy said: “Chestnut Tree House is our version of holiday time. We don’t really get breaks, so Chestnut Tree House look after Luke and he has loads of fun, and Mum, Dad and I get some time together, which is really lovely.

“I am not sure what I will do next as a fundraising event. I love to bake, so when it’s possible I think I will try to organise a cake sale. My dad ran for Chestnut Tree House in Littlehampton in 2019, he plans to do that again when the event is up and running.”

Mulan’s tale of courage and kindness is dedicated to Izzy, who showed bravery by shaving off her hair to raise money for the hospice that cares for her brother.

Visit www.thewaltdisneycompany.eu/princesscelebration for more information and go to disneyprincessstories.co.uk to read the stories, which are available free.

Ultimate Princess Celebration is a new, global campaign championing the qualities of courage and kindness. Famous faces, including Katie Piper, are reading stories from the new collection to help inspire children to create a kinder world.

Katie said: “Disney’s new story collection features tales steeped in the power of kindness and the importance of having courage. It’s brilliant to see Disney gifting little ones with such a positive message.

“Both are key qualities which I do my best to demonstrate to my daughters every day - I think it’s every parent’s hope that their children thrive in a world filled with kindness.”