*UPDATE - I finished on the 23rd March - taking just 82 day to complete!

I'm taking part in a virtual Lands End to John O Groats event. Although the challenges allows a whole year to cover the 874 miles I'm aiming to complete by April 4th - Easter Day. That's an average of approximately 9.40 miles a day. 

I'm raising money for Restored to help them continue to change the story for survivors of abuse as they have done for me and countless others. Too often churches when faced with the issues of domestic abuse say 'not in our church'. 

Restored is a Christian registered charity that speaks up about the realities of violence against women and girls, supports survivors of domestic abuse and inspires and equips the Church to support survivors and transform relationships in their communities. They work to:

1)     Advocate for survivors

Too often, Church culture has perpetuated domestic abuse. They encourage Christians to take action, and lobby for change.
They're grateful to have opportunities to speak out on behalf of churches, but also amongst other women’s organisations and through the UN.

2)     Support survivors

Their international, online community creates a safe space for Christian survivors of domestic abuse to explore the questions and challenges they face. This online community has increased by 89% in the past year.

In response to the repeated questions asked by those in the network, they developed a Survivors' Handbook to bring practical help and real hope to women who have sometimes felt they had to choose between
their freedom and their faith.

3)     Equip the Church

They offer high-quality training and resources to equip and enable churches to better respond to domestic abuse that takes
place inside and outside churches. They provide support for churches looking to better support survivors in their area.

●     Research they carried out alongside Coventry University and the University of Leicester highlights that one in four churchgoers experiences abuse in an intimate relationship.

●     Despite how common it is, domestic abuse is rarely addressed in churches, with nearly 60% telling us that they’d never heard domestic abuse mentioned in a sermon.

●     Only two in seven churchgoers believe their church is adequately
equipped to deal with a disclosure of domestic abuse.

●     £5 could provide a woman with a Survivors’ Handbook, helping her take the first steps to a safer future.

●     £7.50 will enable a church to get a resource to help them respond to disclosures of domestic abuse.

●     £60 could resource an individual to become a beacon of hope for someone 

●     £200 could equip and train a whole church community to become fully skilled in preventing and addressing domestic abuse, providing a safe space for women.