Alexandra's fundraiser for BAGS for Strife

Alexandra Persechino is raising money for BAGS for Strife
In memory of Katrina Fell
Give Now

Half Ironman · 6 July 2025

Absolutely nothing prepares you for loss by suicide. For all of us who set up the charity, it’s so important to do something in honour & in memory of those we lost, and we can only hope through our own experience, we can offer some support through the darkest of days. We reached out to friends and family who all have experienced loss in this way and asked them to describe their most prominent emotions in the following months. The common feelings were Blame, Anger, Guilt and Sadness. Why? We were struck by the lack of accessible support for families and friends in the aftermath of loss by suicide and having reached out to others who have been through similar circumstances, we realised that our experience was not unique. Whilst there are a range of services “out there”, the issue appears to be a lack of knowledge/accessibility/geographical variation/timeliness of these. In response, we have subsequently established BAGS for Strife – a charity that is steered and led by a group of people with their own lived experience of suicide and its aftermath. What? We know that everyone’s experience of grief and loss is unique. Some people may want help in the first few days to navigate their way through the practical elements that must be faced, others may want to reach out for emotional support, and some may stumble and fall weeks or months or years after their tragedy. BAGs will provide practical and emotional support both for the short and long term.

Story

On the 6th July I will be taking part in a Half Ironman event at Outlaw in Holkham. For those who are unaware a half Ironman is 1.9km (1.2 mile) swim in a lake, followed by a 90km (56 miles) bike ride over finishing with and a 21km (13 mile) half marathon to finish. Having only done 1 triathlon previously (a sprint distance that was less than half of these distances) I’m not quite sure what came over me but I wanted to see if I could push myself past some serious mental barriers. For context in January I struggled running 3km consistently (I’ve never been blessed with a running ability). So, I decided to do it for an incredibly good cause and try to raise money for charity in the process.

I will be raising money for BAGS for Strife which is an amazing charity which was set up after tragically losing a very special friend to suicide.

The charity aims to help those bereaved by suicide by letting people know that they are not alone in their complex, unique and overwhelming mix of emotions felt after loss of a loved one by suicide.

Money raised will go towards paying for the contents of the bags themselves which are given to the family in the aftermath of loss.

The charity is very close to my heart and doing amazing work, so any donations no matter how big or small would mean so so much.

Alex.

Donation summary

Total
£2,414.81
+ £531.01 Gift Aid
Online
£2,414.81
Offline
£0.00

Charities pay a small fee for our service. Learn more about fees