Mourners have come together to set up memorial fund pages for the family of murdered Salford aid worker Alan Henning raising more than £17,000 collectively in two days.
Friend and fellow worker Shameela Islam-Fulfiqar started a page on donation website GoFundMe which received £10,000 worth of donations within the first day.
Money donated onto Shameela’s page for Alan will also go towards the project the former taxi driver was helping before he was kidnapped by Islamic militants.
The description on the page read: “This page is dedicated to the memory of Alan Henning – also known as ‘Gadget’ for his love of all things technical.
“On the October 3 2014, the world lost an honourable and remarkable hero. Alan was a selfless compassionate man that paid the ultimate price – to help the destitute and poor that were less fortunate than him.
“After seeking permission from Alan’s widow Barbara, we have decided to set up a fund in memory of Alan for his children Adam and Lucy. We want them to know that their father’s death was not in vain and that the work that Alan was so committed to will also continue.
“A project will also be set up in Alan’s name eventually to benefit those that Alan died trying to help in Syria to ensure his legacy continues long after he was taken from us.”
A video showing the brutal murder of Alan, 47, was posted onto the internet on Friday night, bringing to an end the weeks of waiting to learn his fate after ISIS marked him for death.
His widow Barbara has said his family and friends were ‘numb with grief’ after receiving the news that he had been murdered by his Islamic State captors.
She thanked everyone who took part in campaigns and vigils at home and abroad for the aid worker’s release but appealed for privacy after receiving ‘the news we hoped we would never hear’.
Community groups in Walkden have also managed to raise funds of more than £4000 to help the father-of-two’s children through university and driving lessons.
More than 500 people from different faiths were believed to have attended a church service of ‘reflection and solidarity’ at Eccles Parish Church on Sunday as well as a candle-lit vigil at Eccles Recreation ground.
Bishop of Manchester Rt Revd Dr David Walker, called Alan Henning a ‘martyr’.
He said: “The Christian faith is centred around a man who did enormous good and who actually paid with his life for it,” he told the BBC.
“Alan stands in that fine tradition – since the time of Jesus Christ, we have a word ‘martyrdom’ in the Christian faith for it – of those who do good and end up paying the ultimate sacrifice for it.”
Donations continue to rise as more people take to social media raising the profile of the cause.
I’m an admin for @WalkdenC We’re raising money for Alan Henning’s children at http://t.co/V8NvvKYg9N Please donate if you can #AlanHenning
— Walkden Lives (@WalkdenLives) October 5, 2014
@UoSMediaCity has held a minute’s silence for Alan Henning, who was murdered by ISIS. Please donate to http://t.co/bEbLuZxGMM
— Sarah Chapman (@MsChappers) October 6, 2014
#AlanHenning R.I.P. Alan Henning Fund – Walkden http://t.co/GpTvwAtsMg via @gofundme please donate to help his family 🙂
— Taleb Arabi (@talebuk) October 4, 2014
Alan is the fourth victim of the group after US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded as was fellow Brit David Haines.
Abdul-Rahman Kassig, known as Peter Kassig, is the latest captive to be targeted as ISIS continue their campaign in retaliation to US-led airstrikes against them in Iraq and Syria.
To donate to the fund, click here.
Image courtesy of Facebook with thanks
