Declan shares why he completed a 20-mile walk from Wigan North Western Train Station to Hart Street, Southport, to raise funds for Child Bereavement UK.

By doing something you consider ‘small’ you can make a huge impact and help make the world a better place.

Recently, a tragic event took place on Hart Street in Southport in which ten people were brutally attacked, two adults and eight young girls, three of whom died.  

Learning about what had happened kept me up at night thinking about the girls. How would they be able to overcome such a traumatic experience at such a young age? How would the families and friends of the young girls who died overcome such devastating, heart breaking loss? What would I do if it was my baby girl who was attacked? It was at this time I decided I had to do something to honour these beautiful girls and the two heroes that risked everything to protect them.

I only had a number of days to prepare for the fundraising challenge. I’m fortunate that I’m quite a young and active person so the physical preparation wasn’t something that I had to necessarily focus on. With the limited time I had, I put all my energy into advertising what I was doing and trying to get as many donations as I could, spreading the message about  the amazing work Child Bereavement UK does.

When I first thought about doing the fundraiser, I didn’t think I would personally gain anything – I didn’t want to gain anything from this event, but I felt it was my duty to honour the girls. However, when I walked towards the scene and I saw all the flowers, toys, and messages people had left, I felt an overwhelming amount of honour and achievement; it was a very emotional place and something I will never forget.

When the fundraising team at Child Bereavement UK learned what I was planning to do, they went out of their way to ensure I had all the resources I needed to complete my fundraiser. I can’t thank them enough for their support

The only advice I would give anyone who is considering taking part in a fundraiser or hosting an event, is to stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself ‘Can I make a difference?’. The world we live in needs more people taking action to help others, the world we live in needs more love! The world we live in now needs human beings to help and support human beings!  By doing something you consider ‘small’ you can make a huge impact and help make the world a better place.

To find out more about Declan’s fundraising and his full story ‘8 Beautiful Children and Two Heroes’ visit:  https://gofund.me/cd17a409