{"id":92920,"date":"2025-05-11T14:21:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T14:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/92920\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T14:21:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T14:21:23","slug":"tvs-singing-fireman-helps-welcome-baton-of-hope-suicide-awareness-day-to-derby-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/92920\/","title":{"rendered":"TV\u2019s \u201cSinging Fireman\u201d helps welcome \u2018Baton of Hope\u2019 suicide awareness day to Derby for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"

A firefighter whose stunning singing voice landed him a spot on prime time TV is helping launch the \u2018Baton of Hope<\/a>\u2019 suicide awareness day which is coming to Derby for the first time this year.<\/p>\n

The moving awareness day in September will see the Baton of Hope ceremonially passed around the city by local people touched by suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cSinging fireman\u201d Andy Quinn<\/a> \u2013 who became an overnight sensation after singing a Les Mis number during the \u2018secret\u2019 slot on Michael McIntyre\u2019s Big Show in 2016 \u2013 is launching the Derby Baton of Hope day with a concert <\/a>at Landau Forte College in Derby on May 16.<\/p>\n

\"\"The \u2018singing fireman\u2019 Andy Quinn<\/p>\n

Andy, whose TV appearance was watched by an audience of 6.5million, will be performing a special one-off \u2018Songs of Hope\u2019 night to raise funds for the September event.<\/p>\n

Derby Baton of Hope organiser Claire Goring said it should be a night to remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Baton of Hope event is completely self-funded, so the Songs of Hope concert will be really important in raising funds,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s brilliant that Andy has agreed to do this performance to help launch the event and it\u2019s fitting that he should be giving the concert during Mental Health Awareness Week. I really hope lots of people come along and enjoy the show. All profits go directly to helping us put on the Baton of Hope tour which we hope will raise vital awareness of the growing tragedy of suicide in the UK today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to be supporting the Baton of Hope coming to Derby by putting on a Songs of Hope evening. Mental health is something that\u2019s very close to my heart and I\u2019m delighted to be involved. I hope lots of people come along and enjoy it!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Baton of Hope initiative was started in the UK two years ago by two grieving dads who lost their sons to suicide.<\/p>\n

The idea is that on each of its \u2018tours\u2019, the baton is held by those bereaved by suicide and passed on, much like the Olympic torch. It is being brought to Derby on September 13 by local lady Claire Goring, whose father Rob took his own life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s largest ever suicide prevention initiative, the \u2018baton\u2019 itself has been beautifully made by Thomas Lyte, goldsmiths and silversmiths to the late Queen Elizabeth II and makers of the Emirates FA Cup.<\/p>\n

This year the baton is travelling around the UK with a finale in London on October 10: World Mental Health Day.<\/p>\n

In Derby, the baton\u2019s tour starts at Elvaston Castle where it is set to be transported to The University of Derby by hundreds of riders from the Mental Health Motorbike charity.<\/p>\n

There will be events throughout the day at points in the city including Cathedral Green, the cricket ground and Darley Park.<\/p>\n

Claire said bringing the Baton of Hope to Derby was a labour of love and she wanted to help raise awareness of suicide having been hugely affected by the death of her dad, Rob, who took his own life just before she turned 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad had been suffering,\u201d said Claire. \u201cHe had had a bad back and had been redeployed from work. He just felt like he was useless.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the fateful day, Claire remembered raising the alarm with her mum after not being able to get through to her dad on the phone. Rob was found to have taken his own life that same day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t feel like he could stay,\u201d said Claire. \u201cFor me, at that age, it was really difficult. I was very close to him so it was a huge loss and a real shock. I didn\u2019t expect it. I never thought he would do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Baton of Hope day brings together many organisations in the area which are working to support people with their mental health, including Derby County Community Trust,<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me to organise the Baton of Hope in Derby and show people there are different ways of showing support,\u201d Claire went on.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, this is very personal. It\u2019s about my dad. I want to make him proud. For me, it means everything to bring all these amazing people together who all have done something to save lives and try and take away the stigma surrounding mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for Andy Quinn\u2019s \u201cSongs of Hope\u201d are \u00a310 each. To book, see www.batonofhopederbyshire.co.uk\/events\/songsofhope<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was created for The Baton of Hope by Lucy Stephens at Penguin PR. Can we help get your charity event in the news? Get in touch.<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A firefighter whose stunning singing voice landed him a spot on prime time TV is helping launch the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,12450,36014,393,4884,3367,1620,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-92920","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-charity","10":"tag-derby","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-pr","14":"tag-sheffield","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114489648425998896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}