A 16-year-old busker is getting ready to tour the country with his guitar to raise money for the children’s hospice where his brother was cared for.
Jacob Reddy from Blackburn will spend 22 days travelling the country busking in each of England's 51 cities.
Kicking off his tour in Preston on Saturday (today) busking at the Derian House charity shop on Fishergate High Street, Jacob will then move on to Liverpool before heading south.
He will be joined on the road by his dad, Anthony Reddy, who will be driving the 2,400 miles required as part of the epic fundraising challenge in support of Derian House Children’s Hospice.
The Chorley-based hospice provides respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions and is an especially important place to Anthony and his wife Maria, as it is where their son, Joseph (Jacob’s brother) received regular care.
Joseph contracted meningitis when he was just one month old and the infection left his brain severely damaged, along with several other medical conditions.
Anthony said: “Joseph had many operations during his lifetime, but in spite of this was a really happy little boy, who loved being cuddled and spending time at Derian House.
“Throughout his three years, we frequently visited Derian House for respite care, where Joseph enjoyed all of Derian's fantastic facilities.
“He passed away on September 8 2003 just before his third birthday.
"The staff at Derian were amazing and we have returned every year for the annual 'Forget-Me-Not' service.”
Joseph would have been celebrating his 21st Birthday in September this year, so the family decided to do something unique and special to mark the occasion.
Jacob said: “I’m taking on this crazy nationwide busking challenge to celebrate Joseph’s life and to say a massive thanks to Derian.
"My main aim is to raise lots of money for the charity as they have struggled financially due to the pandemic but still continue to care for children like my brother.”
Jacob, who is no stranger to fundraising, will be performing a range of both original music as well as songs from The Killers, Tom Grennan, Calvin Harris and Oasis.
In 2020 the teenager hosted a lockdown live-stream concert on Facebook with his sister, Lydia, and other young musician friends from around Blackburn, raising an impressive £1,600 in just 48 hours.
One tour date that will be particularly nerve-wracking for the young musician is Thursday August 12, as this is the date that Jacob will receive his GCSE results from St Augustine’s High School.
He hopes to head to music college at BIMM in Manchester in September.
Community fundraiser for Derian House, Sarah Proctor, said: “Jacob’s fundraising mission is absolutely bonkers but we’re all really excited about it.
"The tour will be a great opportunity to raise our profile to a wider audience and it’s such an uplifting story from one of our Derian families.
“At Derian House, our aim is to make sure the life of every child matters, and to ensure that our families are able to make the very most of every moment they have together.
"With services costing £5 million to run every year it is only down to generosity such as Jacob’s that we are able to continue.”
Jacob will finish his busking tour in Manchester on August 21 and has tickets to see his favourite artist and inspiration, Frank Turner, perform that evening.
To make a donation to the #BUSKINGFORDERIAN campaign, visit Jacob Reddy’s fundraising page: justgiving.com/buskingjacob or text BUSKINGJACOB to 70085 to donate £1.
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