Story
I recently started running to train my cardiovascular fitness!
However, I thought running alone would be easy to give up on, so I wanted to sign up for a race to keep myself motivated XD. I heard from a friend who was in Cambridge that they ran a half marathon this year and found it very rewarding, so I thought I could try participating in March next year too.
Little did I know that registration was extremely popular - tickets were sold out within about 5 minutes of opening 😢. Having missed out on tickets, I started thinking about how I could still participate.
Then I noticed there was something called "🏃♂️➡️ Run for charity," which means that to participate, besides registering, you also have to fundraise at least £250 for a charity.
At first, I thought it seemed too much trouble, but after thinking about it for a few minutes, I suddenly felt it was incredibly meaningful. Because I wouldn't just be running for myself, but running for a charitable organization - the sense of mission really kicked in. Plus, since I'd never done fundraising before, I thought £250 wasn't too hard but wasn't too easy either, so it would be perfect to give it a try.
Even if friends don't want to donate to the charity I'm fundraising for, they can donate to me instead XDD. I figured if one person helps me with £10, I only need to find 25 people to reach the goal!
Why CRCC?
In the past, I've donated to migrant worker organizations (One-Forty), many social movement groups, and some small fundraising projects for Taiwan sports. But to be honest, I really haven't deeply explored or researched issues around sexual assault relief and prevention, and I never thought I could contribute to this cause.
But I don't know why - when I was looking through the charity donation list, I immediately felt with complete certainty that this was the organization I wanted to support.
It might be because I've always felt there are many injustices in society, and having previously worked at Womany where I was exposed to various gender-related issues, I became increasingly interested in gender topics through this gradual influence.
This time, having the opportunity to choose, I thought I could make a small contribution to gender issues in this world through this approach.
I don't have an incredibly strong motivation, nor do I have a moving personal story. If you asked me to simply donate or contribute to this issue on its own, I probably wouldn't do it. I don't think it's because I don't care about this issue - it's more that my energy is limited. If it weren't for this particular reason today, I would probably find it difficult to put this issue as a priority in my life.
I support CRCC because I believe in the importance of their existence, and I hope that through this small effort, I can help more people who need support. I've always believed in the idea that love can make this world more beautiful, so I hope to make the world a better place through the power of gentleness.
How Your Support Can Help
Every year CRCC supports more than 1,000 survivors across Cambridgeshire to not only cope and recover from the impact of sexual violence but to go on to flourish and thrive. Their work is only possible thanks to the support of people like you. Here are just a few examples of how your support helps:
- £20 - Will give an information pack to three survivors, helping to provide them with clear, practical advice and details.
- £50 - Enables a woman to access a one-to-one counselling session to help them recover from the impact of sexual violence.
- £100 - Helps us to recruit more volunteers for our listening support services and provide them with the specialist training they need to help and support survivors.
- £500 - Keeps our telephone helpline open for six months, giving women and girls affected by sexual violence someone to listen to them at a time when they need it most.