Two 13-year-old school friends who collected hundreds of pounds for charity have been nominated for a prestigious award.

Cambs Times: Yopey 2014. Maggie PowellYopey 2014. Maggie Powell (Image: Archant)

Maggie Powell, of Manea, and Jessica Stanbridge, of Chatteris, cycled for hours, sold cakes and dressed up as pirates to raise money for those less fortunate.

Cambs Times: 2014 Yopey Logo.2014 Yopey Logo. (Image: Archant)

They has been nominated for the Linx Young People of the Year awards (YOPEYs), which recognise young unsung heroes across Cambridgeshire.

There is a top prize of £800 to be won by a young person or group of young people who help others. The young person or group keeps £400 and gives £400 to a good cause of their choice.

There will be a second place winner of £400, with third place and junior winners getting £200 each.

The community conscious pair were nominated by Michelle Priest, head of progress at Cromwell Community College.

She said they both work very hard at school and had done great work for charitable causes.

Last Red Nose Day, the girls went to New Vision Fitness Gym in Chatteris and spent almost the whole day cycling to raise £300 for Comic Relief.

Despite all the time devoted to good causes both girls still find time to help other students at school.

Maggie has been Games Captain three times, while Jessica volunteers as a school librarian during her lunchtimes and represents her year on the school council.

YOPEY founder Tony Gearing said: “Both Maggie and Jessica are very busy girls, but never too busy to help out both those less fortunate and their own classmates.

“There are many young people in Cambridgeshire doing wonderful things for others. It’s just that they live in the shadow of a well-publicised anti-social minority.

“We need to give young people the respect they deserve and set up the best as positive role models for others to copy rather than focusing on the small number who appear in the press for negative reasons.”

As well as Linx, the international supplier of industrial printers based in St Ives, this year’s YOPEY is also sponsored by Cambridge Regional College, LifePlus of St Neots, Hutchinsons of Wisbech, G’s of Ely, TTP Group of Melbourn, ARM, Building Services Design, Cambridge Assessment, Kiss Communications, Stratagem IPM and Mathworks, all of Cambridge, and Peterborough Regional College. The awards ceremony will be held at Ely Cathedral in October.

The Cambs YOPEY is open to young people aged from 10 to 25, who live, work or study in the county. But they do not have to meet all three conditions. They could go to school, college or university in Cambs but live elsewhere and vice versa.

To nominate someone log on to yopey.org or write, enclosing a stamped-addressed-envelope, to YOPEY, Woodfarm Cottage, Bury Road, Stradishall, Newmarket CB8 8YN for a paper entry form.