Thank you BVH
A huge heartfelt thank you to Bournville Harriers (BVH) running club who had their Christmas party on Friday. Through their raffle they kindly raised £212 for us and another fabulous local charity, St. Mary’s Hospice. £106 will buy 26 public transport tickets so that any child or adult who needs to travel to us for an appointment, but can’t afford to, can be given a day travel ticket. This means they never have to miss out on receiving our support. That is truly fabulous, thank you!
As if this generosity wasn’t enough they also donated some festive party headbands and glasses so we can donate them to some of the children and families we support. This is just a very small selection of them! We hope that these will bring a little bit of festive fun and laughter at what can be a difficult time for many.
Thanks again BVH for your continued kindness and generosity. We really appreciate your efforts from all the different ways you’ve fundraised for us, including every single one of your runners who have run sponsored runs for us, and every member who has donated to these runs too. It means the world to us to have your support. Happy Christmas all.
This May is Will Month
RSVP are delighted to announce that we are organising a Will Month in May in conjunction with local will writing firm BensonWilliams.
This will firstly help our supporters to purchase a very necessary product, and secondly it will help us to raise much needed funds to help us to continue providing our services for survivors.
Here’s how it works. One of BensonWilliams representatives will arrange to meet with you. On completion they will charge their standard fee, currently £120 for single Wills and £160 for mirrored Wills, but 50% of that fee will then be donated back to RSVP on your behalf by BensonWilliams.
Jim at BensonWilliams:
There are many reasons why it may be advisable for you to make your Will. The single biggest for any parent of a child below eighteen is protection of that child. The law is silent on the subject of guardianship of a minor, and children can very easily end up in care whilst custody decisions are being made. Also children below eighteen can’t inherit money as minors and it has to go into a trust for them. Making a Will means you control who becomes guardian for your children, and you decide who controls their money until they are eighteen.
There are of course many other reasons why people make Wills. For example you may be worried about an ex spouse or partner claiming on your estate, you may be in a second marriage, you may live with a partner but not be married. All of these circumstances create potentially problematic issues, but whatever your circumstances BensonWilliams will tailor things to your precise needs.
To take advantage of this scheme please forward your details to Sarah Lafford at RSVP. She will then forward your details to BensonWilliams so that they can contact you to arrange your appointment.
In at the deep end!
Six brave fundraisers are taking on a massive challenge for RSVP. On 20th October, they’ll be swimming with sharks, without a cage!
They all have fundraising pages online and we’re hoping they’ll smash their fundraising targets.
Thanks to all the fundraisers (and those supporting them), your support makes a big difference.
5 Ultra runs in 4 months!
We’re so grateful to Nicola for her incredible fundraising efforts. She is completing 5 different ‘ultra runs’ in just 4 months. Her final, and biggest, challenge takes place this week at the Thames Ultra – a whopping 184 miles!
Nicola has already smashed her target, and if you want to donate to her fundraising page and show your support, just go to LocalGiving.
Wish granted!
Thank you to the generous folk who have granted our wish and bought essential children’s therapeutic resources from our Amazon wish list. They’ve gone straight into Vicky’s Room – our children’s and family room.
There’s lots of other items on the wish list, including books, feelings flash cards and admin items. It’s a really simple and direct way to support us in our 40th year. You can browse the wish list here.
Training For London
Hi, I’m Kate and I wanted to give you an update about my training for the London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April which I’m running for RSVP. It will be my first ever marathon and I’m delighted and proud to be running for this amazing charity.
I am now well into my training with less than a month to go! I have trained up to 22 miles, my longest run ever, and it’s fair to say that I am so tired! I have trained in the sun, the rain and the snow and who knows what the next few weeks will bring. Along with a long run I am also running another 3 times a week, doing spin and power plates and some yoga. I don’t know where I’m finding the time, it’s very time consuming but it’s well worth it.
This charity, their services and this cause is important to so many people and is undoubtedly the thing that keeps me motivated. I volunteered for this fantastic and important cause for over 10 years on the helpline, it is a charity that’s very special to me. RSVP enables survivors to have support and a safe space to explore their thoughts and feelings through the helpline, coffee mornings, counselling, groups and advocacy for children and adults of all genders.
I applied for a ballot place for the marathon 8 times and finally got a place this year. I always wanted to do this as a personal challenge and also to raise money for this special charity, I am not a natural runner and so this really is a challenge! Through my Online and offline fundraising I’ve already raised over £800 and I am overwhelmed and humbled by the support my friends and family have shown. If you’d like to support me or check what total I’m up to click through to my page here.
RSVP is 40 this year (they set up in 1978) so it’s perfect that I can do this during this year and play my part in supporting this special local cause. I am hoping to keep injury free in the final lead up to the marathon and I really can’t wait for the day!
Kate
If like Kate you’d like to support RSVP and get involved in our special year there are all kinds of ways you can do this. Some ideas will raise funds for us without you spending anything extra! Click here for ideas. Thank you.
Good news!
We are delighted to receive news that Garfield Weston Foundation will support RSVP through 2018/19. They will contribute to the costs of delivering counselling to sexual violence survivors.
By funding us for core costs, they are strengthening our foundations for the year, securing funding for counselling staff and contributing to overhead costs. Counselling is our busiest service; from 1st January we have received 393 new requests for counselling from adults and children who have experienced sexual abuse. The need for specialist, trauma-informed support is great, and continues to grow.
Thank you so much to the foundation, from the whole RSVP team, for recognising the importance of our workin our 40th year and boldly showing your support for survivors.
£40 for 40 years in 40 days
An amazing fundraiser Jude Glynn is selflessly running the London Marathon this year on Sunday 22nd April for RSVP.
We give our heartfelt thanks to Jude for devoting her time and energy to raise money for RSVP. Jude’s motivation for fundraising is that back in the summer of 2014 something terrible happened to someone she loved very much and RSVP helped them. We provided counselling and support for the survivor through the court case and helped rebuild their self-esteem.
As an organisation, we at RSVP, will be celebrating our 40th anniversary. That’s forty years helping survivors of sexual violence with respect, empathy and sensitivity. As a part of our celebrations we welcome any kind of fundraising to help us continue to provide support for another 40 years. We rely on fundraising to operate and sadly there is a waiting list of people needing support. With support from amazing people like Jude we aim to reduce the time that people are waiting for counselling and furthermore we will provide more support in outreach locations around Birmingham and Solihull, so our services are more accessible and inclusive.
Get Involved!!
Could you spare a couple of quid? The response has already been incredible but something small but amazing today will still make a difference.Here’s Jude’s fundraising page https://localgiving.org/fundraising/jude-londonmarathon-2018/
Want to raise funds your own way? Fundraising needn’t be as exhausting as a marathon run! Bake sales, dress down days at work and clothes swaps are just some ways that you can fundraise for survivors.
The heat is on! 22nd March
Join us on the 22nd of March as we approach our 40th birthday as a charity supporting survivors of rape, childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence, trafficking, as an adult or child or both.
The need is greater than ever – the heat is on to increase support for survivors.
As the need grows, we have expanded enormously. Already we have had to increase our team of award winning ISVAs (advocates) to offer support with police and court processes, as well as our counselling staff and helpline opening hours.
Come and network with us and others for our ‘hottest’ event yet.
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Link to tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-heat-is-on-tickets-42238673008?aff=es2
Please contact Jeremy, RSVP’s corporate fundraiser, on jeremy@rsvporg.co.uk or 07793536002 for any queries or to donate prizes, sponsorship and to enter the Heat Is On Challenge
It’s Not Ok
Did you know that this week it’s Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week? What will you be doing to raise awareness of sexual abuse?
You can use the hashtag #itsnotok to raise awareness on social media.
You can read the words of survivors on our Survivor Stories page.
You can donate to our 40th birthday campaign, we’re aiming to rise £40,000 to mark our 40th year and continue supporting survivors for 40 more.
You can challenge victim blaming myths wherever you hear them. Jessica Eaton has made this fantastic 60 second video introducing the problem of victim blaming in sexual violence.
And what are RSVP doing this week?
Today, we’re at the launch of a new publication To Report or Not To Report: Survivor Testimony of the (In)Justice System by our friends at Reconnected Life. We’re proud to know some of the contributors who have shown immense courage as they speak out about their experiences.
Tonight, we’re at the University of Birmingham to Reclaim the Night, standing up against sexual violence and harassment, cat-calling and victim blaming.
And this week we’re offering 287 counselling appointments to survivors of any gender, any age in various locations around Birmingham and Solihull.