Running for ReachOUT

Hey everyone! I have set myself a running challenge for Autumn this year, which basically involves me running a total of 51km in official races between September &October (three 10km events and a half marathon to top it off). I am doing this to raise money for ReachOUT, a small charity that I am proud to say was nominated for Community Organisation of the Year by the National Diversity Awards. To all the seasoned runners out there, this might not seem like too much of a challenge. For me, this is madness. This is a step towards my ultimate goal of completing a full marathon next year. Here's why you should sponsor me, but more importantly, why you should donate to ReachOUT. ReachOUT is a small Leeds-based charity that I started in August 2012 to support LGBT+ refugees and asylum seekers. LGBT+ refugees and asylum seekers are people who are persecuted in their country because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. These people are some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society - they arrive as strangers to our country, they very rarely have the support of their friends and families, and are frequently isolated in fear of persecution even once in their country of asylum. ReachOUT creates a safe space where people can be out, can express themselves freely, meet people like them and build a sense of camaraderie around shared experience. Through skills- and confidence-building activities, ReachOUT becomes an active space in which service users can further themselves, have fun, get to know their city and one another. It is so important that organisations like this exist to create safe spaces for these people and work towards social justice in the Leeds community. We currently have 56 individuals on our books who receive support from us, and have so far managed to do this on individual donations alone. Please, please help me to raise some money to continue providing this very necessary help to our courageous ReachOUT family.