Today has been Len Banana Day - celebrating the life of my first cousin once removed Leonard (Len) Saunders, who was punched in an unprovoked attack while walking down the street on 21 July 2017. Len passed away nine days later. Len would have turned 66 today.
Len was a shining star within the St Helens community and beyond, completely selfless. He worked tirelessly for many charitable, arts and environmental organisations throughout his life. After his death, his neice told the local media that:
"My uncle, Len Saunders, was a beautiful soul who dedicated his life to charity and volunteering work. He was a talented actor, poet and musician who never stopped helping people, even in his final moments."
Len was involved in so many community activities that even his family did not know until after his death about some of the voluntary work he did. Wherever he went in his every day life he created friendships.
Among the many activities he was involved with was transporting aid to orphanages in Romania, including building children'splay areas there; numerous conservation and environmental projects; poetry writing (under the pseudonym Len Banana), acting, and volunteering at the Lucem House Community Cinema in St Helens.
The cinema today acted as the focal point for a day of activities to celebrate Len. Full details of what happened today are shown below. Thank you to everyone who got involved.
Rest in Peace Len, and on behalf of everyone who was helped or worked with you, thank you Len.
