Norton five-year olds show not all heroes wear capes

Vinnie Lindsley (left) and Cohen Carberry (right)

placeholder image — Vinnie Lindsley (left) and Cohen Carberry (right)

A five-year-old and his best friend from Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, will be proudly wearing their Heroes Club T-Shirts when they take part in the Children’s Great North Run on Saturday.

Cohen Carberry and his pal Vinnie Lindsley, who both attend the Glebe Primary School, have been inspired by Cohen’s mam Alisha to take part, to raise funds to support veterans’ charity Help for Heroes. Alisha, who is 31, is part of the Hidden Wounds team at the Charity, where she’s a Senior High Intensity CBT Therapist.

Alisha has been working with former service men and women for six-and-a-half years now. She said: “We are so proud of Cohen and Vinnie. Cohen says that he wants to help people like mam does and it makes my heart swell with pride. They are our heroes.

“I love my job, it’s so special being trusted by people who are dealing with anxiety, stress and trauma as a result of their time in service, to be part of their recovery journey. We work closely and guide them and their families at a difficult time, to be able to move forward with their lives.

“We’re a really active family and I took part in the Great North Run myself last year to raise funds for Help for Heroes and I think that’s what put the idea in Cohen's head. Cohen’s dad Liam was also a trooper in the Army in the Light Dragoons for four years, which makes this even more important for us.”

The mini 1.2km run for 3-8 year olds is on Saturday 6 September and the event is already sold out.

Alisha added: “I’ve got Cohen and Vinnie a couple of Heroes Club T-Shirts, which they will be proudly wearing.

“I’ll be there with his dad, Liam who’s also a veteran and Vinnie’s mam and dad Samantha and Shaun, cheering them on. It’s so heart-warming that young children can be so caring of others and want to help them.”

If you would like to support Cohen and Vinnie’s fundraising efforts for Help for Heroes, go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/vinnie-cohen?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015

Help for Heroes champions the Armed Forces community and helps people live well after service. The Charity supports veterans and their families with their physical and mental health, as well as welfare and social needs. It has already supported tens of thousands - and won’t stop until every veteran gets the support they deserve.

The Charity supports veterans from any branch of the UK military – regulars or reserves – irrespective of length or place of service, and locally embedded civilians (and their families) who worked under the command of UK Armed Forces.