Thousands raised as Olisa memorial fund beats target
THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised for a memorial for a Bristol student whose body was recovered from Bristol harbour last week.
The 20-year-old Olisa Odukwe had been missing for some days before his body was found on Tuesday, May 6.
Now a GoFundMe page, made by one of Olisa’s close friends, has exceeded its target, having raised more than £5,500 in days.
The money is going towards a memorial bench and tree where Olisa ‘spent a lot of time with friends,’ with any extra funds being donated to mental health charity Mind UK.
Lucy Weatherly, who made the GoFundMe page, told the Post: “We wanted to get an inscribed bench and magnolia tree planted in the park where me and a lot of friends spent time with Olisa.
“We thought that if we made enough money for the memorial by fundraising there might be a couple of hundred pounds leftover that we could donate to a mental health charity.
“After the fundraiser had been up for a few hours, it seemed quite clear that a lot of people wanted to donate. We decided to raise the
target so that we could donate more money to charity than we first anticipated.”
Lucy describes Olisa as having been a “very loving” person who would be “proud” his memorial is going towards an important cause like mental health.
“He was kind to absolutely every person he spoke to.
“He would be so proud that a memorial for him was leading to a vast amount of money that can be donated to important causes like mental health.
“The fact that Olisa’s memorial can now signify the love and kindness of everyone who has donated as well as a reminder of a great and kind friend makes us so happy.”
Speaking about the importance of discussing mental health, Lucy said: “Young men are resorting to ending their lives instead of feeling like their lives can be improved. This boils down to the fact that young men either think that they can’t or shouldn’t speak about their mental health, some thinking that they should not even be allowed to have poor mental health or that the help available is not for them.
She says campaigning for better mental health services is “extremely important” and can “quite literally save lives.”