Three bereaved fathers who set out to achieve something positive following the suicides of their daughters have completed a third national charity walk.
The 3 Dads Walking trekked 500 miles from Scotland to Norwich, pushing their fundraising total to more than £1.4 million for the North West-based charity PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide.
Andy Airey, of , Mike Palmer from Greater Manchester and Tim Owen from Norfolk have become national heroes for raising awareness and helping to save young lives.
The fathers walked through the eastern counties of England visiting some of the newly opened, or soon to open, PAPYRUS hubs in Stirling, Newcastle, Leeds and Norwich.
A familiar face in Keswick after spending 26 years as the face of the George Fisher outdoor shop, Threlkeld-born Andy dedicated himself to the cause after the death of his daughter Sophie in 2018 aged 29.
He said: “It is very important to have achieved this in terms of fundraising but more importantly raising awareness of the charity and the life-saving work they do.
“This was about refocusing our efforts to help PAPYRUS achieve its goals and extend the charity across new parts of the country.”
The 3 Dads Walking completed their first challenge in 2021 by walking 300 miles.
A year later they doubled that distance by trekking 600 miles, walking between the parliaments of all four nations from Northern Ireland through Scotland, Wales and England.
Speaking at the end of their 25-day trek, Tim Owen who lost his 19-year-old daughter Emily to suicide, thanked all those who had supported them.
“People have travelled nationally to be with us. Many of them have been bereaved by suicide, all of them saying PAPYRUS is such a fantastic charity and we need to continue preventing more suicides.”
Mike Palmer, who lost his 17-year-old daughter Beth to suicide, said: “We walk in memory of our girls and sadly, if we don’t do something positive, we will lose more and more children.
“We have been joined by parents every day along the way and hearing their stories is absolutely heart-breaking. We don’t want other families to have to experience the terrible grief that we do, that’s why we do what we do.”
Ged Flynn, chief executive of PAPYRUS, which has its head offices in Warrington, paid tribute to the dads for raising awareness and spreading hope.
He said: “They’ve walked 500 miles, life with every step. Every story shared is a life saved.
“The 3 Dads Walking have already captured the nation’s hearts, after all what could be more important than the wellbeing of our children and saving young lives?”
During their two previous challenges the 3 Dads Walking were overwhelmed by public kindness and generosity.
Hollywood actors Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman each donated £10,000 as did soccer legend Lou Macari who lost his son to suicide.
For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice contact PAPYRUS HOPELINE247 on 0800 068 4141, text 88247 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
For more details about the 3 Dads Walking visit: www.3dadswalking.uk
