COLEG MENAI TUTOR AND DAUGHTER FUNDRAISE IN MEMORY OF FRIEND

A course tutor at Coleg Menai has helped to raise over £30,000 for charity ‘Calm Zone’ in memory of his fellow RAF past colleague and friend.

Andy Collins, Sports Outdoor Adventure Programme Leader, took part in two days of intense fundraising activities last month.

Andy was a Physical and Adventure Training Instructor with the RAF for 15 years, where he became close friends with Andrew Morris, and several others.

Sadly, after a battle with mental health, Andrew took his own life in 2017.

Andy’s past RAF colleagues and friends coined the name ‘Talisman Triathlon’ for their fundraising efforts, where they have been undertaking challenges such as open water swimming, mountain climbing, biking, and more.

Andy joined his RAF friends for two days whilst they were in North Wales, on their journey around the UK raising money. Andy ran the first half of a 62km journey to Y Wyddfa from Llyn Tegid in Bala. On the second day the group of friends were challenged with strong winds and rain as they fought their way to the summit of Snowdon by taking the Pen-Y-Gwryd route.

Taking inspiration from her father and his friends, Andy’s daughter, Anni, has decided to complete 50 miles on her scooter to raise money for the Talisman Triathlons fundraising efforts. You can visit Anni’s GoFundMe page here.

Andy said,

“My wife Ceri and I are extremely proud of Anni and hope the money raised can really make a difference to this statistic, as well as raising awareness of the help that is out there for anyone who is finding life hard at the moment.

“People really do care, and I hope this fundraising attempt proves that to someone who needs it right now.”

Find out more about Andy’s time with the Talisman Triathlon group, here.