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Football Mad Isle Of Wight Men Raise Thousands For Mental Health Charities

Arthur Dawes, Graham Holder and Pete Skinner at Hillsborough

Two Isle of Wight men - supported a close friend - have raised thousands of pounds for two mental health charities.

Back in May, Graham Holder and Pete Skinner set off on a 100-mile charity walk, in memory of Graham's son, Jack, who tragically took his own life in 2018.

The walk was to raise money for two charities - CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and the Aston Villa Foundation - which help people with mental health issues.

Graham, who lives in Cowes, is a life-long Aston Villa fan and the last time he saw Jack was when he took him to see Villa play an away game against Sheffield Wednesday at their home ground, Hillsborough. The poignant walk started at Villa Park, before finishing at Hillsborough.

The walk raised a total of £1,818 for CALM and £3,030 for the Aston Villa Foundation.

(The trio stopped at England's St George's Park on their walk from Villa Park to Hillsborough)

Graham and Pete said:

"We would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who donated to either charity or assisted with the walk. In particular, Neil and Georgie Westhorpe, who kindly lent their campervan which was used as transport from the Island to Birmingham, overnight stays en-route and for the homeward journey from Sheffield.

Thanks also to Steve and Karen Porter who helped with the cost of the Red Funnel ferry, and to our friend, Arthur Dawes, who joined us for much of the walk and set up tours around Villa Park and Hillsborough."

A long-term friend of Graham, Arthur, an employee of Aston Villa, set up a tour around Villa Park at the start of the walk, which helped to raise awareness of the event. He also arranged a tour round St George's Park in Burton-on-Trent.

On the Island, the President of Porchfield Cricket Club, invited Graham and Pete to umpire the Presidents Xl fixture, which raised an extra £650.

Pete and Graham added:

"Thanks to all at Porchfield CC for their generosity, to round off this successful and worthwhile charity venture."

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