In this challenging economy it’s hard to imagine many people would be digging into their pockets to give away money.But when it comes to a worthy cause — helping a boy with special needs — residents proved there’s no holding back.Members of local running group The Weekenders were able to raise $17,122 to help five-year-old Dakari Saunders who suffers from cerebral palsy.The money will go towards regular speech and physiotherapy sessions and hopefully give him the best chance at having as healthy a life as possible.Annesa Saunders’ blood pressure fell significantly while she gave birth to Dakari; there wasn’t enough oxygen getting to her baby’s brain. The youngster now has educational and physical challenges and has to regularly go overseas for treatment.When runner Corinne Peach first met young Dakari at her son’s ju-jitsu class she was immediately touched. Mrs Peach noticed that he was full of life and “such a happy little boy”.She decided to take part in the Bermuda Day Half-Marathon on Dakari’s behalf and got friends from running group The Weekenders, to help with the task.Natalie Dyrli, Lisa LeBlanc, Samantha Kyme, Joe Barbosa, Steve Ortiz, Darrin Cassidy and Mark Harris worked tirelessly to raise money for Dakari. Even they were overwhelmed with how much money poured in.Mrs Peach said: “We were thrilled to be able to present Dakari’s family with such a large sum of money, it’s such a nice feeling knowing that you’re really helping somebody.“Between the eight of us we managed to raise $17,122 which is amazing and I am blown away by the kindness and generosity of people in Bermuda.“We really feel we are able to make a huge difference to Dakari’s life by helping him get the therapies he needs each week.”They each individually asked everyone they knew to sponsor them in the run.A story which ran in The Royal Gazette about the team’s fundraising efforts also helped, Mrs Peach said. “We even had complete strangers, who were touched by Dakari’s story, offer to help.“We just tried to raise as much as we could, thinking that even if we all could raise a few hundred dollars, it would make a small difference. We had no idea it would amount to so much.“We really want to thank everyone who donated to help Dakari,” she added.