Double Olympic Gold Medallist joins Persimmon to support York mental health charity
26 June 2023
Yorkshire born Olympic double gold medallist Alistair Brownlee MBE today joined the family and friends of Charlie Dallas Lancaster for the third annual Mile a Life event in York
The Charlie Dallas Lancaster Foundation (CDLF) is a mental health charitable foundation based in York named after popular local businessman Charlie Dallas Lancaster, who died in 2020.
CDLF aims to carry on the work of supporting charities and helping others, something that Charlie was passionate about. In particular, CDLF raise funds to support the provision of much needed mental health services as well as providing funds to other organisations and individuals working in the sphere of mental health and suicide prevention.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on mental health, was also on hand to lend her support to Charlie’s friends and family as they set off on the final leg of the event from York Minster to York Crematorium.
Ahead of the start of the walk, the CDLF were presented with a cheque for £5,000 after Charlie’s sister Victoria applied for funding via our Community Champions scheme.
Charlie's sister, Victoria Taylor, said: "It's our third year of doing this. The idea is that it creates a big sense of community and that creates a structure or route for people because not everybody needs crisis intervention. We are a fundraising organisation and we then gift the money on to other mental health support networks and charities locally.
"Charlie was massively into therapy and counselling, but that's not for everyone, so we've helped with other forms of support including - Box Therapy, where people get involved in non-contact boxing and are supported by a team of therapists."
Scott Waters, Managing Director for Persimmon Yorkshire said “ Charlie was well-known and much-liked in York, and so we're delighted to be able to support the fantastic work of the CDLF through our Community Champions Initiative to help them to be able to continue to do such good work."
