PR and Recruitment Team pay their respects to Rob Burrow, and celebrate the work of the MNDA in Yorkshire.

Part of the reasoning behind Risca Male Choir (RMC), choosing the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) as their charity for 2024 included the decision of the committee to head to Leeds for 2024’s UK tour. With this in mind and the National Media coverage of Rob Burrow’s battle, living with MND and promoting the work of the MNDA, we could think of nothing better than to raise funds and awareness of MND and help find a cure. Although not creating concerts themselves the MNDA put us in touch with Regional Fundraiser for the Devolved Nations, Richard Shackelford and the MeN Do Sing 24 project arose from there.

Back to Leeds, we still wanted to support the charity in the heartland of where this new champion of the MNDA, Rob Burrow and his best mate/fundraising master Kevin Sinfield hailed from. It was then the contacts with local choir, Featherstone Male Voice Choir, home to where Rob Burrow once played began conception. This developed into a joint concert thanks to Tour Manger Alan Davis, and Concert Co-ordinator, Robin Grayson.

The PR and Recruitment Team had  always planned to make some sort of dedication to Rob and Kevin whilst in Leeds. We presented an idea to the committee to make Rob and Kevin Honorary Members of RMC, to show our appreciation for the inspiration they have given to us all involved in the MeN Do Sing 24 project, to the whole of RMC in our fundraising efforts, and to give our thanks for the selfless dedication to raising awareness for the MND community. 

Following the sad news of Rob Burrow’s death on the 2nd of June 2024, only 15 days after the MeN Do Sing 24 finale Concert where £20,542 was raised and just over a month until the tour to Leeds, the PR and Recruitment Team needed to reconsider their plans.

After a few days of communication, we changed our plans and agreed to head to the Leeds Rhinos Rugby Stadium at Headingley to pay our respects and to pay tribute to Rob Burrow, the Legendary Rugby Star and Campaigner. 

We also needed to think again about the gifts and how to make Rob and Kevin Honorary Members of RMC. 

Friday the 12th of July, a group of the PR and Recruitment Team, headed over to Headingley Stadium. We were greeted by members of the RB7 donation team which had been set up following Rob’s death (Number 7 being the Jersey Rob wore). Ashley from that team accepted the gift we presented to them, a framed picture of the concert with a written explanation of the MeN Do Sing 24 project. Ashley stated that they would find somewhere at the ground to hang the picture and was very grateful for the work we had done. As a thank you we were all given pin badges showing the RB7 logo, acknowledging our support of Rob’s work. It was a moving and humbling experience to be where both Rob and Kevin had played and the support from the club was so evident.

That same evening was the Featherstone Concert. We had learnt that the West Yorkshire Branch of the MNDA was going to present, represented by one of their volunteers, Tracey. With that knowledge we also took a framed picture to present to Tracey during the concert. We wanted to demonstrate that our fight for the MNDA cause and campaign had no geographical boundaries. The money we raised within the MeN Do Sing 24 project although was raised for the South East Wales Branch part of that would go into research to find treatments and hopefully a cure. We have joined the Northern Ireland, England and Wales family of campaigners (Scotland has a separate MND Scotland charity) and we hoped we demonstrated that In Leeds.

With the offer of Honorary Membership still up in the air we proposed to the committee, that we would still make Kevin Sinfield a member and for the first time ever, we would offer a posthumous membership to Rob Burrow. Although both men had been invited to the concert along with family members, months prior to Rob’s death, it was understandable that no confirmed attendance had been made. 

Many memorial events and engagements had been organised that required Rob’s family and Kevin himself to attend. The Funeral/Memorial had yet to take place and unbeknown to us, an event at Leeds Civic Centre had been arranged during the day of Friday 12th. Both Geoff and Irene Burrow (Rob Burrow’s parents) went to that event They did contact Featherstone Male Voice Choir and apologised that they could not make the concert and hoped it would be successful. Kevin Sinfield had returned to the England Rugby Team out in New Zealand to continue his commitment as training coach. We had hoped to present the RMC ties (tokens of honorary membership), to Kevin and Geoff on Rob’s behalf at the concert but this unfortunately could not happen. (We whole heartedly understood the reasons why). We left the gifts and a message of explanation with Featherstone Male Voice Choir and they agreed to pass them on.

A successful tour filled with great music, great laughs, great experiences and memories. This was also a tour filled with emotion, tributes, dedication but mostly a celebration of Rob Burrow. We felt as though Rob raised an army and we became soldiers in that army. Rob is King Arthur, Kevin Sinfield is Merlin, and we have become Knights of the Round Table.

Tim Stone (First Tenor)
Vice Chairman, PR and Recruitment Team Lead. MeN Do Sing 24 Project Lead