Season Ticket Holder David Foster could barely believe it when West Ham United and JustGiving teamed up to celebrate the incredible work he has done for charity in memory of his late daughter, Emily.
Claret and Blue runs in the Foster family’s blood, with David’s grandfather having attended the Hammers’ first appearance in an FA Cup final in 1923, the first match ever to be held at Wembley, and he himself hailing from Ilford in east London.
While David and his wife Helen took inspiration from Katherine Road, close to Upton Park, when naming their third daughter, Kat, it was Emily who first showed signs of following in her father’s football-loving footsteps, often joining him in the stands to cheer the Irons on.
Also a gifted pianist, an avid reader and a keen walker, Emily graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Oxford and a Master's in Psychology from Oxford Brookes, before pursuing a career as an Educational Mental Health Practitioner in Cornwall.
A victim of sexual violence on multiple occasions, Emily suffered from severe trauma-based anxiety, which had resulted in a stay in a psychiatric hospital and daily trauma clinic sessions for eight months. She fought hard to recover, to return to work and to live independently. However, a further incident combined with past trauma led to Emily tragically taking her own life, aged just 26, in February 2024.
Eager to do something in her honour, David took inspiration from Emily’s own plan to hike the 140 miles along Cornwall’s south coast, tackling the challenge himself across two weeks in May 2025 and eventually raising over £12,000 for the Rape Crisis England & Wales charity.
“I probably started planning the walk within two weeks of Emily dying,” said David, 61, who is a retired insurance broker. “When you’re in that intense process of grieving, they’re long days, and you need something to do.
“It had been one of Emily’s ambitions to walk the whole of the Cornish coastal path. She was working her way through it, on weekends and things, and I think being outside somewhere beautiful was really good for her mental health.
“It had probably been my dream to walk part of it with her, so it seemed like a positive plan. My wife, Helen, supported me logistically, and the walk itself was a complete joy. I barely felt a drop of rain for the whole fortnight, so it did feel like Emily was up there looking out for me.
“I started in Land’s End and finished in Looe, where Emily used to live. I took one of her necklaces with me and chatted to her throughout, and I wore a Rape Crisis t-shirt that was ruined by suncream and sweat by the end!
“I was completely struck by the kindness of strangers that I met along the way, who donated, gave me hugs and really just picked me up. My dog, Pippin, was with me for a lot of the walk, and friends and family joined me for different bits which was really uplifting, too.
“Just after Emily died, we raised close to £10,000 for Mind, a mental health charity close to her heart, so I’m really proud we’ve been able to raise such a large amount of money for Rape Crisis as well. Rape is a difficult subject to talk about, but we think Emily would have wanted us to tell her story to help other people in her situation, and hopefully we’ve been able to do that.”
After completing his walk and raising such a large amount of money, David was nominated for the 2025 JustGiving Awards by his friend Mark, who had joined him for part of his journey and witnessed first-hand the challenge he had endured both physically and mentally.
With 20 finalists selected from over 18,000 public nominations across five categories, David was shortlisted alongside four others for the Outstanding Commitment award, recognising people who go above and beyond for causes that have supported them or their loved ones, before being chosen as the overall winner following a public vote.
The news was delivered with a West Ham twist however, with Club legend Martin Allen on hand to tell David while accompanying him and Pippin on a dog walk, after surprising him at his home in Finchley, north London.
Allen also invited David, Helen and their second daughter, Hannah, to join him for the Irons’ Premier League clash at home to Brentford on 20 October, as part of a VIP experience that finished with Club captain Jarrod Bowen presenting him with his JustGiving award after the full-time whistle.
David said: “I think I was in the car when I heard about the nomination. I thought it was great, but I knew there’d be loads of finalists, so I didn’t really think much of it.
“I was then really humbled to be shortlisted. I knew a film crew were coming to the house to tell our story, and then to be surprised by ‘Mad Dog’ at the window while I was being interviewed was a complete and utter shock. I had no idea!
“He’s a West Ham legend, so it was brilliant to meet him, and he was such a lovely guy. Then for him to tell me that I’d won the award was just super special, and quite emotional, and the experience at London Stadium was amazing, too.
“Winning was a huge surprise, but I do passionately believe in the cause, and if it means that Emily’s story reaches more people and does some good then that’s brilliant.
“Emily has been at the heart of this whole experience, from start to finish, and it’s definitely something that my family and I will treasure forever.”
To support David or find out more about his fundraising challenge, click HERE.
To find out more about Rape Crisis England & Wales, click HERE.
