Newcastle man Paul running in aid of MYMY

Newcastle man Paul running in aid of MYMY

27 May 2020

A NEWCASTLE man who has been running five kilometres every day since the beginning of the lockdown has raised over £2,000 for a local mental health charity. 

Paul Tumelty found himself with more time on his hands when the seaside coffee shop he worked in was forced to close its doors under government guidelines to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. 

The 36 year-old father of two, says he never thought of running until he saw a Facebook post from Mind Your Mate and Yourself (MYMY), stating that the charity was struggling financially.

It was forecasting a in income of £30,000 because of the cancellation or postponement of fundraising events.  

Paul, who has suffered from mental health issues, realised the importance of the charity after experiencing a number of family tragedies and decided he would help raise money to help them bridge the deficit. 

“I always need to be doing something. After I found myself with no work I worried about the effect that would have on my mental health,” he said. 

“I knew that running was good for your mental health and so I thought it might be a good idea that for every donation I received through my JustGiving page, I would run five kilometres each day.”

Paul said that within the first hour of launching his fundraising page he had enough donations to keep him going for ten days. 

He said: “On the first day I ran four kilometres on Murlough Bay and that near killed me. After I came home, I had a shower and felt OK. 

“That was on April 6, which was my mother’s birthday. Since then I have had enough donations to keep me running everyday since then. 

“Today will be my 46th day of running and I have managed to raise £2,180.”

If running wasn’t enough Paul raffled a Celtic football signed by the double-win league and cup squad of 2012 and 2013 which helped raise £330. 

Paul said: “The man who won the raffle gave it back to me to raffle again which helped raise the final total. 

“I’m also holding a raffle for a signed picture of John Barnes who played for Liverpool between 1987 and 1997 live on Facebook on May 30 at around 7pm. 

“Sales are going very well for that at the moment. I find fundraising is helping me as much as its helping anyone. It makes me feel good to be doing something for such a worthwhile charity.

“Unlike some organisations, it is essential that MYMY keep their services going now more than ever because of the impact self-isolation can have on people’s mental health.”

If you wish to donate to Paul’s JustGiving page log on to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-tum-tumelty