Please support us in our efforts to raise money in memory of Charlie Duignan, for a cause that was close to his heart. As many of you will be aware, our Heylo team member, David Duignan, sadly lost his 8 year old son Charlie to cancer on 11th January this year. As a team, we want to honour Charlie’s memory and show our support for David and his family by joining them in fundraising to support causes that mattered to Charlie.

Those that knew Charlie will remember him as a kind and loving little boy that had a keen interest in marine life, the ocean and loved doing beach cleanups with his family. To him, beach cleanups were an exciting chance to do a free treasure hunt with the added bonus of doing good and protecting the ocean.

In honour of Charlie, David and his family are in the process of setting up a charity – The Charlie Duignan Foundation. The charity’s main goal is to have a beach school in Charlie’s hometown of Exmouth, Devon. The beach school’s primary aim is to help children, both local and visiting, by giving them access to the beach and seaside in a positive, fun and informative way.

The beach school really will be a wonderful way to have an impactful legacy in Charlie’s name. The charity is looking at leasing premises near the beach in Exmouth to help facilitate these activities and be able to share what Charlie loved with other children, their families and the wider community. They are looking to raise funds to help pay for the first year’s rent now to get the project going.

As a team, we have decided to join David and his family in fundraising in support of this amazing cause. In July, we will be doing a skydive to raise money and would love your support in doing so! Any donations, however big or small, will be greatly appreciated and help us to honour Charlie and to do him proud. We will share updates on what we are doing as we go along.

The incredibly brave and scared people who are sky diving include: Anna Matthews, Jason Zhao, Lisa Atter, Lucy McNaught, Manpreet Chana, Mark Krawczak, Melissa Toomey, Neville Attwood, Issy Barber and myself, Tabitha Kassem.

Please note that whilst we will be covering part of the cost of the skydive ourselves, a proportion of the funds raised will go towards covering the cost of the sky dive.