Stephen Beard Foundation:
The Stephen Beard Foundation was set up after my brother passed away in April 2020. The foundation was set up to support local organisations based in Wirral who support people with their mental health and well being through a variety of projects. Stephen had worked for Peter Edwards Law (PEL) for around 10 years. His work involved representing people in vulnerable stages of their life with disabilities and mental health difficulties. It was from that passion that the idea of the The Stephen Beard foundation grew.
As a family and as a foundation we have been indebted to the support we have received from PEL. Stephen was poorly for over 2 years, During Stephen’s illness their support didn’t waiver. They supported Stephen in many ways including him with updates about the office and any special events. Several of them took him out for meals and invited him to their special events eg. weddings and christenings. They helped raise money to support his treatment and well being. The staff consistently visited him. The love and support he was given helped him immensely during the challenging time he was going through.
After Stephen died, the love and support didn’t end there. They was a sense from the people around us that they wanted something to celebrate Stephen’s legacy. Peter Edwards Law was right behind us setting up this new charity. Past and present staff joined us as trustees. We launched our first fundraiser; Must-Dash for Beard. This event became an annual fundraiser which has always been well supported each year by PEL. Any endeavour we set up PEL have been the first to sign up and support us. Not only that, but they have also initiated many of their own fundraising ideas in the form of raffles and bake sales. It’s now over 4 years since Stephen died and staff have come and gone. However, PEL have remained committed to Stephen’s memory displaying the foundation logo with Stephen’s picture in the foyer of the office.
New staff are introduced to the ethos of the foundation and told all about who Stephen was and what he stood for. For that we are eternally grateful.