TeamDaniel was set up in 2017, after our beloved 15-year-old son, brother, grandson, nephew and dear friend was taken from us unexpectedly in February 2017. Daniel took his own life as he couldn’t see a way out of the stress he was under brought on by his GCSE exams. Throughout this awful time, Daniel’s family were supported by two organisations, Leeds General Infirmary and Martin House Children’s Hospice.

In 2017, we started TeamDaniel, consisting of family members and friends from Leeds and London, who came together to raise funds for Martin House Children’s Hospice who looked after Daniel for 4 weeks before his funeral. As a small token of our appreciation, we raised just under £20,000 by taking on a number of fundraising events, including the 45km Skipton Canal Challenge, the Olympic Park 10km, Fun Days, Tombola’s, Scarecrow Festivals, quiz nights and race nights. Martin House Children’s Hospice still support Daniel’s family to this day!

In 2018, TeamDaniel focused their efforts on raising vital funds for both Martin House Children’s Hospice and Leeds General Infirmary, where Daniel spent 3 days before he passed away. TeamDaniel worked with the 4Louis charity to raise £8,000 to purchase a cuddle blanket for the hospital and £6,000 to purchase a cuddle cot for the hospice. Both allow bereaved family members to spend longer with their loved ones before they have to say goodbye. We also raised £3,000 to donate to 4Louis to purchase memory boxes to help inspire bereaved families to capture mementos of their baby or child and help decorate a bereavement suite.

Above: Martin House cheque presentation

Right: Leeds General Infirmary presentation

In 2019, TeamDaniel focused its efforts on becoming a recognised charity as well as raising over £4,000 for Leeds Market Place who provide free, confidential and available services for 11-to-25-year olds in Leeds. They offer a range of services including one to one support, counselling, group-work and drop-in sessions.

In January 2020, TeamDaniel finally became a registered charity to raise awareness of the prevalence of mental health issues in children and young people and raise money towards opening safe spaces in Leeds and London and bringing in counsellors and various other organisations such as Battle Scars, that can talk about self-harming and signpost to available services. TeamDaniel also works with schools, discussing stress and how it can escalate at significant times such as exam periods, and again signpost to support available.

Above: Cuddle Cot presentation