Charity partner announced for Fire & Security Matters Awards 2026

Named in honour of former Oxford United FC midfielder and star player Joey Beauchamp, The Joey Beauchamp Foundation aims to address the pressing requirement for mental health support and awareness within the local community. With a steadfast focus on collaboration and community engagement, the organisation seeks to empower individuals to overcome challenges and go on to thrive in their daily lives.

Key objectives

The Joey Beauchamp Foundation’s key objectives are to:

*promote counselling and support for those individuals and families in need of such attention due to mental health issues

*make grants available to organisations to enable such individuals to receive support and fund counselling and support programmes

*publicise and promote the resources available for supporting mental health and suicide prevention to members of the general public

*promote to the public an understanding of the issues surrounding mental health and suicide in order to encourage positive and productive discussions

*educate on the subjects of mental health resilience and suicide prevention

More than anything else, what Joey Beauchamp wanted to be was an Oxford United FC player. He fulfilled his dream by making 428 appearances for the club across two spells (1989-1994 and 1995-2002), scoring 80 goals in the process. It was his team, his city and his home. He loved life in Oxford.

However, Joey – recognised as a supremely gifted footballer – began to suffer from depression, alcohol addiction and financial problems. At the age of 50, he took the decision to end his own life.

Joey wasn’t aware that there was a network of support for the hundreds of people just like him suffering with mental health-related issues every day.

Raising funds

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Sennett (CEO of Western Business Media and the founder of Fire Safety Matters magazine) explained: “The announcement of this year’s charity partner for the Fire & Security Matters Awards means a great deal to me on a personal level.”

Elaborating on that point, Sennett stated: “Joey was a hero of mine when I was growing up. He was playing for the team I love: Oxford United FC. Undeniably, Joey was the club’s greatest ever player. In adulthood, I was fortunate to know Joey socially and he always went ‘above and beyond’ to help raise funds for charities when I served as chair of the Oxford United Supporters Trust named ‘OxVox’. He assisted me and many others. Joey meant so much to the people of Oxfordshire.”

Sennett continued: “Tragically, Joey took his own life on 19 February 2022. In his memory, the charity was established to address the pressing need for mental health support and awareness. We’re very grateful to Joey’s brother Luke, who helped to found the charity and is one of its Trustees, for giving us his blessing on our desire to support this vitally important cause.”

Charity auction

On the night of the Fire & Security Matters Awards – supported as always by Fire Safety Matters and its sister titles at Western Business Media, namely Security Matters, Professional Security Installer and Benchmark – there will be a charity auction featuring some fabulous prizes. All of the proceeds are being donated to The Joey Beauchamp Foundation.

*Further information concerning The Joey Beauchamp Foundation can be accessed online at www.joeybeauchamp.org Donations are always welcome

**Additional detail on the Fire & Security Matters Awards 2026 is available to view at www.firesecurityawards.com