PCSO celebrates raising more than £4,000 for charity

A marathon running PCSO has celebrated raising more than £4,000 for charity with a special cheque hand over at her local station.

PCSO Liz Dale, of Rugeley local policing team, met with our Chief Constable, Chris Noble, and representatives from the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity on Tuesday 20 May to hand over the cheque following her mammoth fundraising efforts. 

Liz had taken to the pavements to complete the London marathon at the end of last month, having smashed her £1,500 fundraising target.

Since then, the fundraising appeal remained open and last week, Liz handed over an impressive £4,300 to COPS. 

She said: "When I first started training, I was thinking, ‘how on earth am I going to raise £1,500?’ and yet by the end, to have raised more than £4,000 is just incredible to me. 

“It just shows that, if you put your mind to something, you can meet and even exceed your target. 

“The whole journey, in terms of the training, fundraising and doing the day job, has been wonderful, I’ve really loved it.”

Now Liz is hoping to complete a triathlon and may even complete the London marathon next year, this time to try and achieve her personal time goals. 

“I was so surprised how well I recovered, I came home, went to bed, did the school run then went to work for the week, that I think I’m quite suited to this marathon lark!” Liz added. 

Chief Constable Noble, who is the chair of the board of trustees at COPS, said: "It was wonderful to see Liz handover the culmination of all her fundraising efforts to the charity. 

"She has worked tirelessly to raise money for COPS in addition to her policing duties and training for the marathon, and I'm very proud of her achievements."

Lisa Meads, Chief Executive Officer of COPS, who attended the cheque handover, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Liz for her dedication and the fantastic amount she has raised for COPS. 

"Every penny will go towards supporting the families of police officers and staff who have died whilst on duty. 

"Liz’s achievement was made possible through her own remarkable commitment, the strong team of colleagues around her, and the support of her local community. 

"It’s a true reflection of the spirit and solidarity of the policing family — we can’t thank her enough.”

To find out more about COPS, visit: Care of Police Survivors - Support for Bereaved Families | COPS UK

For more on becoming a PCSO, see: Police Staff - PCSO | Staffordshire Police