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A Nottingham charity worker has been nominated by Sport Relief and selected to be a Batonbearer in the prestigious Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay.
Laura Hughes, 24, is a Clinical Support Worker with the Nottingham-based Harmless CIC, which benefits from money raised by Sport Relief. The organisation helps those who self-harm, or are at risk of doing so, and their families by reducing isolation and distress, and by promoting health and recovery.
To recognise and celebrate Laura’s passion and dedication to making a difference in her community, she has been nominated to carry The Queen’s Baton as it travels through England this summer.
Laura will carry the Baton in a two-seater canoe down Nottingham’s Beeston canal on Sunday 10 July, with a flotilla of paddle boards travelling alongside.
On being invited to join the Relay, Laura said: “I didn’t know I’d been nominated, when I first got the e-mail, I thought it was spam! I was so shocked and surprised, it was the last thing I expected. It’s a huge honour to be chosen. When I’m carrying the Baton I’ll be thinking of the whole team at Harmless and of course, my clients. The work I do wouldn’t be possible without my clients trusting me and the team that work with me, you can’t do any of this on your own, it’s a team effort!”
Laura added: “Comic Relief funding enables us to help people who are in suicide crisis, and also those who are self-harming. We’ve been able to reach so many people. During the pandemic the amount of people coming to us for help tripled and the Comic Relief money helped to keep us going when people really needed us.
“We also offer support for carers of people in crisis, it may be the parents of a young person who is having suicidal thoughts or a sibling in the family, for the loved ones of those in crisis it’s really hard to see someone you love go through this.”
With the help of money raised by Sport Relief, Harmless runs The Tomorrow Project, which supports people in suicide crisis, and those who have been bereaved by suicide, through one-to-one sessions. They also go into communities which have been impacted by suicide, to reach out directly to people affected.
Having been on a 294-day journey, visiting all nations and territories of the Commonwealth, the Baton will be touring the host nation for a tour of England, finishing in the host city of Birmingham, where it will take a central role in the Opening Ceremony on 28 July 2022.
Samir Patel, Chief Executive of Comic Relief, says: “It’s a huge honour for Laura to be a part of the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay and we are so proud of her. This Relay not only marks the start of an incredible summer of sport, it is also an example of how sport has the power to unite and connect people across the UK and the globe.
“It is fantastic that Sport Relief is a charity partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Together, with the help of the amazing British public, we’re hoping to raise life-changing funds to tackle inequality, improve mental health and help young people to survive and thrive.”
Sport Relief is an official charity partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, alongside United By 2022 and the Commonwealth Sport Foundation, and hopes to raise money this summer to help change lives for the better. To find out how you can get involved, visit: www.comicrelief.com/sportrelief
ENDS
ASSETS AVAILABLE
-Selection of images and a video interview with Laura are available on request
-Laura’s story, as told in her own words
-Sport Relief, Comic Relief and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games logos and graphics available on request
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Senior Media Officer Antonia Paget
A.paget@comicrelief.com
07981 923879
media@comicrelief.com
Out of hours 07984 510 473
www.comicrelief.com/media-centre
Out of hours enquiries: 07984 510 473
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a year-round fundraising campaign run by the charity, Comic Relief.
Sport Relief harnesses the power of sport and entertainment to bring people together across the UK, to get active, have fun and raise life-changing funds. Since launching in 2002, Sport Relief has raised £419 million so far, thanks to the generous British public, and supported millions of lives in the UK and around the world.
This year, Sport Relief is teaming up with United By 2022 and the Commonwealth Sport Foundation to celebrate an incredible summer of sport as the official charity partners of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Together we hope to inspire the nation through a shared love of sport, to use this momentous sporting event as an opportunity to raise money to change lives for the better.
Sport Relief aims to raise money to take on important issues, including tackling inequality, improving mental health and helping young people to survive and thrive in Birmingham, across the UK, around the Commonwealth and beyond.
Sport Relief is an initiative of Comic Relief, operating name of Charity Projects, registered charity in England & Wales (326568) and Scotland (SC039730). For more information about Sport Relief, please visit https://www.comicrelief.com/sportrelief
Instagram: @ComicRelief |Twitter: @ComicRelief | Facebook: @ComicRelief | Tik Tok: @ComicRelief
About Comic Relief
Comic Relief raises money to support people living incredibly tough lives in the UK and around the world. Through humour and stories of hope, we have shown that people can make a massive difference.
Comic Relief believes that those who are closest to the issues have the best solutions, and so works with organisations and people with direct experience of these challenges. We fund hundreds of amazing organisations who support the most vulnerable people and communities in society. This includes vulnerable children and young people, people who are homeless or who have been forced to flee their homes, women and families at risk of domestic abuse and those struggling with mental health problems.
For information about Comic Relief and the work it carries out, please visit www.comicrelief.com
Comic Relief, which is the operating name of Charity Projects, is a registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland).
