sBasis Yorkshire empowers women and young people to stay safe and make positive choices. We are a specialist voluntary orgnaisation that works specifically with sexworkers (indoor and streetbased ) in Leeds and with young people who are being sexually exploited or who have experienced this in the past across Yorskhire.

We know  some of you may be thinking: another fundraiser? Yes - well the truth is that more people need our help and not all of our work is fully funded. Our outreach van is old and in constant need of repair, we are seeing an increasing number of indoor women who need condoms (we now spend approx. £5000/year on condoms) and we've nearly run out of safety alarms (£5/alarm). Awareness raising of sexual exploitation with the general public is completely unfunded yet such a vital component of recognising someone if someone is being exploited and helping them get the support they need. Basis has to also work hard to constantly challenge public opinion and inappropriate and hateful language used against our service users which happens all too often.

This cause means a lot to us. Staff work incredibly hard on some really challenging and emotional cases, supporting women and young people who experience at best isolation and prejudice, at worst extreme violence and abuse, sometimes with lifelong consequences. Everyone should have the same right to good support and access to health and safety and sadly - for too many young people who are being sexually exploited or sexworkers, this is still not the case. 

Its our longest challenge yet (750 swim; 19k bike and 7.5 run  -hopefully within 2.5 hours) and we have to wear a wetsuit. We  know we ask you every year but if you saw the work Basis does and the women and young people they support, you would understand why we dedicate so many hours of training to this cause every year. This video gives you at least some idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvgRz-zRiMo

Please share this page with friends and family so we can meet our fundraising challenge again this year! 

Thank you!