Northern Ireland

Belfast man raises over £4,000 for charity by hosting virtual SpeedQuizzing events

A Belfast man has raised over £4,000 for local charities after he started hosting a series of virtual SpeedQuizzing events.

Simon Johnston from Antrim Road began hosting the lockdown quizzes towards the end of April, with the hope of generating a few much-needed donations for charities impacted by Covid-19.

He started hosting two weekly quizzes for family and friends, using SpeedQuizzing Live, a free app and online platform that enables users to host and play fast-paced, interactive, virtual quizzes from the comfort of their own home.

Players were invited to make a small donation if they could, with around 20 teams getting involved initially.

As word spread, Johnston's trivia events are now attracting upwards of 60 teams, with donations currently standing at over £4,000.

The money raised is being split between several charities picked by Mr Johnston following a spell in intensive care with pneumonia in December.

Mr Johnston, who works as a Regional Operations Manager for Belfast-based Russell’s Food & Drink, said £1,600 had been raised for the local NHS via the Intensive Care Society, while a further £1,700 has been donated to three local charities – Samaritans, MACS, Everglow Health and Wellbeing and TAMHI – who provide a range of services and support to people who are experiencing homelessness or mental health issues.

Mr Johnston has hosted a further nine quizzes for players at St Malachy’s Old Boys FC, where his two children play, raising £1,000 to date for the Cancer Fund for Children.

Mr Johnston said: “I’ve been blown away by their generosity. I never expected my SpeedQuizzing events to become so popular, initially I just set out to try and raise a few hundred pounds to help good causes....

“At a time when a lot of charities are seeing donations fall, it’s really gratifying to be able to support a handful of really deserving causes, with the money we’ve raised so far already having a big impact on the ground.”

Mental health charity TAMHI is using the money donated to fund and distribute activity packs, containing Spiderman colouring books and other educational goodies, to schools and youth groups across Belfast.

A MACS spokesperson said: “MACS are very grateful for the money raised as it is helping to support young people through a variety of things including phone top ups, creative packages, and food parcels, all in our local communities.” 

One beneficiary is mental health charity TAMHI, who are using the money to fund and distribute activity packs, containing Spiderman colouring books and other educational goodies, to schools and youth groups across Belfast.

Mr Johnston added: “I never thought I’d get to this point to be honest, but as long as there’s demand for them, I’m very happy to continue to host them, and hopefully, between us all, we can raise a lot more yet for the people and causes who are the real heroes.”

Anyone wishing to take part in Simon’s quizzes can find out more by visiting SpeedQuizzing for the NHS and Mental Health on Facebook.