Damian McNulty fundraising for Redwood School

Damian McNulty with pupils from Redwood School

Damian McNulty will be taking part in the London Marathon to raise money for Redwood Secondary School.

Damian, who works as an occupational therapist with the Council Children with Disabilities Team chose to fund raise for Redwood Secondary School because a number of children he works with attend the school.

He said: “The majority of children I deal with either currently attend or are likely to attend Redwood School. I know they are constantly fund raising for facilities and opportunities for the children.

The children who attend Redwood have a wide range of skills, needs and challenges due to their individual circumstances and they deserve every opportunity to experience the same things as other children, so I felt that this was a great cause to support.”

Damian originally entered the London marathon as a personal challenge but didn’t actually think he would secure a place. He said: “I applied for the marathon through the ballot system prior to considering fund raising. I initially applied as a personal challenge but without thinking I would secure a place as it is generally oversubscribed by many thousands every year.”

Damian has completed a half marathon twice but has never actually completed a full marathon. Training has already begun for the marathon with Damian gradually building up the miles as well as following a training plan. He added: “This generally involves running around four times a week with a long run on a Sunday.”

Damian hopes to raise as much money as possible for Redwood Secondary School. Money raised from the fund raising will then be used to help fund the development of an accessible play area and wheelchair accessible roundabout at the school.

Damian added: “The cost of this type of equipment runs into thousands of pounds but any contribution is more than welcome.”

Even though Damian will be taking part in the race alone, he has a growing number of supporters to cheer him along.

Damian said: “I have a growing team of supporters coming down to London - around 10 family members who will be there to cheer me on, including my wife Siobhan and three young children, Barney, 5, Orla, 3, and Harry who will be nearly 6 months old by then. Plus I will have all of the great children and staff from Redwood cheering me on through the television.”

Anyone wishing to help Damian with fundraising can contact him at:
damian.mcnulty@rochdale.gov.uk or on 01706 925900 or can visit the Redwood website for other donation options http://www.redwood-school.com/fundraising.html