A LOCAL radio station is going above and beyond with a livestream charity fundraiser.
Bracknell’s 2HI Radio serves the whole of Berkshire with drum and bass, techno and more – but it’s turning its hand to something new.
Chris Scott, also known as Lively when on stage, is a regular 2HI Radio host, and he is holding a livestream event next month to raise much-needed funds for Epilepsy Action.
He was inspired after speaking to listener Emma Tomlinson about her experiences living with the condition.
“I listen to quite a lot of music,” Emma says. “I find it helps me relax and chill out, and I’ve been friends with Chris for quite a long time so I decided to get in touch with him to arrange a fundraiser.”
Emma has been living with nocturnal epilepsy for the past 13 years, and she says it has only been getting worse.
“I started off having maybe one or two seizures a year for the first 10 years, but now I’m having about 150 annually,” she explains. “This year, I’ve had 20 already and they’re always violent.”
She says the condition means she can’t sleep by herself or be near her newborn baby at night – otherwise, she risks hurting somebody.
“I’m on the highest amount of medication they can give me and it’s still not enough,” Emma adds.
“With covid, I think people sometimes forget that there are people out there living with other conditions, so I thought let’s try and raise funds and spur research into the condition along a bit.”
Chris says that when Emma reached out for help, he knew he had to do something.
Now, the radio host is busy putting together a killer DJ set to play back to back next month, and will be putting a link to the fundraiser in the feed for listeners.
“I’m hoping we’ll get a lot of interest,” Chris says. “We’ve got some quite big names already reaching out to me within the UK garage scene.
“A lot of people have been affected by the illness in one way or another in their personal lives, and they all want to get involved.”
Some of the artists who have already signed up to help include MC CKP, who Chris calls “a legend of UK garage music”, and DJs Bubblin Chris and Tom Tonez.
Emma says she is over the moon with Chris’ support.
“He’s organised the whole thing himself, putting the flyers together and finding the acts,” she says. “He’s been absolutely amazing, and now we’ve got offers from artists all across the South East.
“Chris has guided me through all of this, and is always checking up on me to see if I’m okay.
“It goes to show that it doesn’t matter how famous these people are – they’re willing to help me share my story.”
Emma hopes to raise at least £500 for Epilepsy Action. The livestream fundraiser is taking place on 2HI Radio on Friday, March 5.
To donate to the cause and to find out more about the event, search for ‘Music for Epilepsy’ on Facebook.
To find out more about 2HI Radio, visit: www.2hiradio.com
