12-hour quizathon launched in aid of suicide prevention charity
A 39-year-old Greater Manchester man is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for a suicide prevention charity by staging a marathon 12-hour virtual quiz that anyone can join – with Chase star Paul Sinha already confirmed.
Irlam resident Simon Lee, who regularly hosts virtual quizzes through our quiz hosting platform SpeedQuizzing Live, came up with the idea after hearing from his regulars how his quizzes had helped them with their own mental health over the course of three challenging lockdowns.
All of the money raised through Simon’s 12-hour Quizathon will go directly to the suicide prevention charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) – a cause Simon is particularly close to following the loss of a close friend through suicide.
Simon’s Quizathon will take place on Saturday 24th July from 12pm through to 12am, and comprise of 12 back-to-back, hour-long quizzes, spanning an array of subject areas from general knowledge and sport, through to music, film and TV.
Players can select which quiz they take part in – with some teams already signed up to take part in all 12. Quizzers will also have the opportunity to take on champion quizzer and star of The Chase, Paul Sinha, who has confirmed he will be joining one of the quizzes during the day.
It’ll be run through SpeedQuizzing Live, our free app which teams or individual players will need to download to their phone or tablet device in order to play the interactive, fast-paced quiz in real-time. They will also need a second, Zoom-enabled screen so that they can see and interact with Simon and the other teams over the course of each quiz.
There will be prizes at the end of each hour-long quiz, and players will also be invited to take part in a raffle where they could win, amongst other things, a weekend break for two at a hotel spa in the Lake District.
Commenting on his forthcoming quizathon, Simon, who works as a research study administrator for clinical trial company NorthWest EHealth, said:
“The inspiration for this comes from knowing just what a difference quizzing can make to people’s mental health during these challenging times.
“I wanted to do my bit to support the incredible efforts of charities like CALM and hosting a fundraising quizathon seemed like a great way to share my passion for quizzing, while bringing people together, virtually, for some fun and entertainment.
“I’ve already managed to raise over £1,000 thanks to donations from various kind-hearted businesses, and I’m hopeful of raising at least the same again through people taking part in the various quizzes, with the initial response suggesting it’s going to be a very popular event.”
Anyone wanting to enter a team into Simon’s 12-hour Quizathon can do so by emailing simon.lee.speedquiz@gmail.com. More information on the event and the different quizzes is available here.
