By Paul Abraham
Farsley resident Damon Cooper battled against the heat of the day and physical sickness to complete his fund-raising walk, in aid of the James Burke Foundation.
His walk started at the Mumtaz restaurant in Leeds and included Headingley and Pudsey along the route before completion at the Jinnah restaurant in Bradford – 39,245 steps later, where he was welcomed by Sharon Burke, the founder of the charity.
Damon’s efforts were rewarded as he surpassed his sponsorship target of £500 for the mental health awareness and suicide prevention charity based in West Leeds.
Damon said: “It was very tiring but I’m very proud to have so far raised £565 of my £500 total. The James Burke Foundation is a small local charity which doesn’t always get thought about in terms of fundraising, but they do some really good work and support people who might not be able to get help elsewhere.”
Sharon Burke, whose son James took his own life in 2018, was enthused about Damon’s achievement.
“We can’t thank Damon enough for all his efforts for the foundation, he really is an inspirational and genuine supporter of ours,” Sharon said.
“As a small charity which receives no funding or sponsorship of any kind, the efforts from supporters like Damon make a huge difference as we try and provide accredited mental health training to people who may not, normally, have the opportunity to attend such important workshops and we would also like to thank everyone who kindly donated to Damon’s fund-raising challenge.”
If you would like to donate to Damon’s fundraiser, then please click on the this link.
Damon is also a community reporter for the West Leeds Dispatch.
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