Rotherham woman's fundraising mission in memory of uncle to help people battling mental health

The 28-year old from Rotherham embarked on the mission in memory of her uncle Paul, who tragically took his own life back in 2024 at the age of 46.

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Hollie had a very close relationship with her uncle through their mutual love of music.

“It was my uncle who got me into the bands I love today, he would always ask what gigs I’ve been to and saying that we should set up a few gigs to go to, but unfortunately that never happened,” she said.

Hollie is raising money for the charity CALM (Campaign Against Living miserably) which is a suicide prevention hotline, helping people who suffer with their mental health.

She started her herculean task on Sunday, June 1, and has already walked 25 miles so far using her phone’s internal step counter to help her track how many miles she has completed and posting her results onto her social media accounts to show her donors how she is progressing.

Hollie has raised £600 so far and had to start a second Facebook fundraiser account after smashing through her initial target of £500.

She explained that she has been wanting to raise money for charity for a long time, but feels that now was the right time to do it and to help people like her uncle Paul.

“You have people who just suffer in silence but not my uncle, he was begging for help. He knew that there was something wrong and he was frightened, he was receiving help at the time but I think there were things that could have been done that weren’t and other things that could have been handled differently,” explained Hollie.

The money Hollie is raising for CALM will go to helping the hotline pay for their call handlers. It costs about £12 to handle one call.

CALM started in 1997 and has continued to grow and flourish, and in 2005 became a recognised charity.

CALM and Hollie share the same goal, which is they want to live in a world where people don’t think that suicide is their only option.

“People who are suffering are not necessarily wanting to die, they just want the pain to stop, and they think that this is their only option, and I am here saying it's not,” she said.

“The pain will go away. Get the help you need and never think that you are a burden on your family, because you’re not. You matter to someone, you’re not a burden, your family and friends would rather have you here, helping you through it. Never think that suicide is the only option.”

If you want to help Hollie with her fundraising, you can donate to her Facebook fundraiser here.

To find out more about C.A.L.M visit their website here.