Double dose of kindness from health student

A GCU student has raised £360 for charity and is also set to offer therapy support to frontline workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

DPsych Counselling Psychology student Ben Amponsah power marched 26 miles over a seven day period as part of the 2.6 challenge.

The former army officer raised funds for Walking With The Wounded (WWTW) – a charity supporting former servicemen and woman with transition from military to civilian life.

Ben explained why he wanted to get involved and how he went about the challenge.

He said: “Charities have been hit hard during this time as people can’t fundraise in traditional ways.

When I was originally in touch with WWTW, they said they were looking for 26 people to each raise £26 as part of the challenge. I didn’t think this was much at all and knew I could get more, so I set up a JustGiving page and managed to raise a total of £360.

The charity does a lot of great work around mental health and really helps support people – so I just thought I might as well get stuck in and see what I could do!”

Ben added: “I decided to complete 3.72 miles each day over a week. The idea was to not just walk – I wanted to power march like I used to in the army.

Days four and five were a struggle, however at certain points my pace averaged around 5.5mph, which I was pretty pleased with.

I tend to work out about four or five times a week, so this was a good way to get outside into the fresh air - especially with this nice weather!”

He’s also volunteering with Frontline 19, where he will use his profession as a qualified therapist to support NHS workers who have been affected by what they’ve experienced in recent times.

Ben said: “I just felt it was important to step forward and do something during these times.

I’ve done a lot of work in my role around trauma and decided to get involved as a way to lend a helping hand to those who really need it.

I’m now beginning to get referrals through and I’m really looking forward to getting started.”

By Ross Clark

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