5 miles a day - 1 Marathon a month - 50km for Ger's 50th

Hi everyone

Thank you for visiting my Go Fund Me page.

I am looking to raise money to help fund A Lust For Life's incredible schoool programme. This amazing organization is dedicated to empowering and educating young people through early, preventative mental health programs. Their work helps young people develop the coping skills they need to navigate life's challenges and thrive.

Their ultimate goal is to reach every primary and secondary school pupil in Ireland and to provide mental health education to support children from junior infants to Leaving Cert in a systematic, continuous, and age-appropriate way.

Therefore I have commited to undertaking a number of ambitious fundraising activities in 2025.

I will be

1. Running a minimum of 5 miles a day everyday for 2025.

2. Complete 1 full marathon (26.2 miles) a month every month for 2025 .

3. And to celebrate what would have been my brother’s 50th birthday I plan to “run” (I use that term very loosely) 50km on the 13th of February.

I can absolutely promise I will do all I can to help raise as much money as possible.

I hope that by sharing my personal reasons for taking on this challenge you will support me in whatever way possible.

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Last August, I lost my younger brother Gerard in a way that I firmly believe could have been prevented with the right support at the right time.

Gerard was my best friend growing up, he was so unbelievably clever, funny, and kind, and he just drew people to him. He was the central force in our group, in our family.

He would take centre stage without ever trying, as people hung on his every word waiting for the next inevitable, remarkably funny quip or joke and, true to form he would never disappoint.

We all just wanted to be in Ger’s orbit, but Ger never wanted to be the star.

Despite all his wonderful qualities, he was an incredibly shy and private person and from an early age he struggled desperately with his mental health.

Like so many others, Gerard turned to drugs and alcohol to help him cope, but these did nothing to help him, and only added to his isolation, loneliness and destroyed his self-esteem.

For a long time he hid his issues well; he was awarded a scholarship to university, graduating with an honours degree, and moved into his chosen profession, holding down a steady job that saw him travel the world.

But his demons never left him.

As his mental health deteriorated, he returned home to live with our Mam & Dad. His addiction grew and took hold of him, and he isolated himself more and more.

Our Mam was his unwavering ally, always caring for him and supporting him. They were more than mother and son; they were best friends.

She was the only one he confided in and the only person he didn’t shut out.

When our Mam passed away on the 23rd of June last year, we were all devastated, but none more so than Gerard.

He was lost without her. They had a special bond. Life couldn’t break that. They needed each other.

Just two months later, on the 23rd of August, Gerard lost the battle with his demons.

I can’t even begin to explain how it feels to lose two people you love so much so close together in such circumstances.

We tried to help Gerard many times over the years but by the time we realised how much he needed help; it was already too late, and our attempts ultimately failed.

I genuinely believe that Gerard’s death could have been avoided had he learned to understand his own mind and feelings from an early age and given the tools to help him cope.

His life could have been so different.

This is what A Lust For Life does.

This incredible organization is dedicated to empowering and educating young people through early, preventative mental health programs. Their work helps young people develop the coping skills they need to navigate life's challenges and thrive.

Their ultimate goal is to reach every primary school pupil in Ireland with A Lust For Life Schools Programme.

This programme is already making a significant difference for young people. It aims to build resilience, increase wellbeing & enhance the emotional literacy of Junior Infants to 6th class school children.

Throughout the programme, children creatively learn about their wellbeing and self-care with content that is rooted in psychology, has been written by educational specialists and created by children for children.

The programme includes lesson plans, learning material, a Netflix-style gallery of engaging videos, and much more, all designed to increase & expand pupils understanding of feelings and emotions, and create a more compassionate, happier school environment.

Supporting their work means we can help bring these life-changing programs to more schools across the country, giving countless young people the tools they need to lead healthier, happier lives.

Please consider contributing in anyway you can. No donation is too small. It all adds up. If you can't contibute financially then please share as much as possible on your social media channels. Together, we can drive meaningful change and honour those, like my brother, who needed this support but didn’t have it in time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your donation will make a difference.

With gratitude

Philip