A Wortley family is set to visit 20 Premier League football stadiums in 24 hours to raise money to buy two lifesaving defibrillators for their community.
The Westerman family are looking to raise £2,400 towards defibrillators to be stored at the Queen pub for the TV Harrison Sports ground next door and another for Wortley FC Colts u11s to use home and away.
Mum Lea Westerman, one of the TV Harrison campaigners fighting to stop the ground being turned into housing, said the idea came from her 11-year-old son Caleb – and admitted the trip would be a real challenge in the timescale. Lea said:
“Caleb is football mad and said to me that he wanted to visit every Premier League Stadium in the country. I thought about it for a few days and thought ‘why not raise some money
“In these times where it seems heart problems seem to be more common than ever it seems the way to go to have defibrillators easily accessible – God forbid anyone should ever need one.”
Lea and Caleb will be joined on their journey with dad Dave and their 10-year-old son Blake.
“We were plotting the route last night” added Lea. “It’s going to be a real challenge to do it in that time but it is just about do-able. We’re going to start in Newcastle and work down the country but split the 24 hours into two 12-hour days so it’s easier for the kids.
“We will be videoing ourselves at each stadium and doing a video diary for a bit of fun.”
The challenge will take place on 23 and 24 February 2022.
You can contribute to the Westermans’ fundraising efforts here.