Previous Fundraising Events

Julia does the Bristol Half Marathon

In September 2010 I ran the Bristol Half Marathon to raise funds for unseen(uk).  This involved quite a few months of training runs, quite a few blisters and very tired legs!  However I really enjoyed the event and having all the sponsorship behind me was a strong motivation to finish in a good time.  I chose to fundraise for unseen(uk) after learning about the problems of trafficking through my work and after reading about the great work unseen does.  The fact that they give practical support to survivors, as well as raising awareness about the issues surrounding trafficking, really appealed to me.  All of my friends and family were really pleased to support such a worthy cause and a lesser known charity.  I would love to do fundraise for unseen(uk) again but maybe next time go the whole 26.2 miles and do the London marathon!
 

Alice bikes across Chile for unseen(uk)

I am cycling from the North to the South of Chile for unseen(uk).  Chile is 5000km long and has a desert (which I am in at the moment), the Andes and a very cold bit at the bottom (with penguins).  I chose unseen(uk) because that's exactly what this issue is - unseen.  People in the UK don't know about this horrible situation so these women don't get the help and the chances they deserve.  Last year I travelled by bicycle in Eastern Europe (where many of these women are from) and the people were so kind to me and were willing to give me things that I knew they couldn't really afford to spare and I believe it is important to show my gratitude to them in some way.  

I've only just started (5 days ago) and I've just finished my first bit of desert and I'm just about to start my first bit of coast tomorrow.  I'm having a day off today to go paragliding!  The first day was like being in hell (it's hard to train enough for this kind of thing) and since then I've stayed with some very kind Posada owners, in my tent and in a police station!  Everyone I meet doesn't think I can do it which is making me even more determined and I'm telling everyone I meet about unseen(uk) so hopefully this will help in some small way.

 

Hollywood Blockbuster leads to support for unseen (uk)

On Friday 26th November two friends hosted a Bring and Buy book sale.  The event was attended by friends, family and neighbours who donated and purchased books.  People also enjoyed browsing and purchasing Heavens Attic’s great jewellery and accessories. 

Mary one of the organisers felt compelled to act to support the freedom and recovery of women that have been sex trafficked into the UK after watching Liam Neeson’s blockbuster movie ‘Trafficked’.   Mary commented “whilst I realised it was a dramatisation of the reality the film really brought home to me what women experience”.   She searched the internet for local charity’s supporting women and found unseen (uk). 

The event was a huge success as it raised £110.00 for unseen (uk) and increased awareness of women’s experiences of sex trafficked and the hope offered by organisations such as unseen (uk).  Heavens Attic donated a percentage of all of their sales.  
 


Fundraiser at Jika Jika

November has seen unseen(uk)’s first awareness evening in Bath. The event was held at Jika Jika, a fairtrade coffee shop co-owned and attended by Bath Rugby player Lee Mears and about 40 others. unseen(uk)'s co-founders gave enlightening talks followed by a short film on sex trafficking.
 
The emphasis was on sex trafficking here in the UK, and in particular in the Bath and Bristol area. The talks informed the audience of the current gap in the market of service provision for survivors of trafficking in the South West and how unseen(uk) are working to provide for that need.

There was a great question and answer time and further discussions afterwards with requests for further awareness talks.

unseen(uk) wish to thank everyone who attended and the trustee and volunteer that arranged and organised the event on our behalf.

 










European Anti Trafficking Day Event 2010

October 18th 2010 marked the first European Anti-trafficking day that the UK signed up to. unseen(uk) marked this day with an evening of arts and conversation at the Tobacco factory, Bristol.

The evening was supported by The Shatterbox Theatre Company, Neil McQueen and Rich Newman who each contributed their own artistry to commemorate the occasion and raise awareness about human trafficking and its impact and effect on the UK.

The Shatterbox theatre company used extracts from there touring production ‘Fairtrade’ to tell the true story of two girls trafficked into the UK to be sold and sexually exploited. It was a powerful piece of theatre that enabled you to connect with the individual stories and left a lasting impact.

Neil Macqueen, the creator of UnoFuori Studio, displayed a series of printed designs to raise awareness of human trafficking. The ‘unseen Skate Deck Series’ showed images of human trafficking and sexual exploitation printed onto skateboard decks. Printing the images onto actual Skateboards as Neil hopes now to do will make a real statement and raise awareness of trafficking to a new audience.

Rich Newman produced a powerful photographic series documenting the journey of a girl being sold by her boyfriend and trafficked in to sexual exploitation and forced prostitution. This encouraged people to use their imagination to understand this common yet almost unbelievable method of trafficking.

The evening was rounded off with a Q&A session where Neil and a few of the Shatterbox company spoke out their work and took the floor for questioning along with unseen(uk)’s Project Manager. The evening was a great success and an appropriate way to recognize and mark Anti-Trafficking day. A huge thanks to all the Shatterbox members, Neil, Rich and the Tobacco factory for all of their hard work and support.

Websites:
UnoFuori
Rich Newnham Photography
Shatterbox Theatre Company
 


Steve Daykin and his cycle ride

Congratulations to Steve Daykin, who has just completed a cycle ride from Lands End to John O'Groats to raise over £2,000 for unseen(uk). Some words from Steve himself:

Dear All,
 
I’m pleased to report that I completed my ride just over a week ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, eating all I want and still losing ½ stone. I must say that cycling 70 miles every day regardless of weather and how you felt was a bit of a challenge some days but most days’ great fun. I also required a saddle transplant after a few days – a donor bike being at hand.
 
I’m extremely grateful to those who supported my ride by sponsoring me – just over £2,400 being raised (and still some monies to come in) for Unseen and Katy Molloy. I’ve provided some photographic evidence below (as well as the weight loss to those who have seen me since the ride) that I did actually complete the ride. To anyone who likes exercise it’s a great way to see the UK, the people I cycled with were a good team (very noisy each night letting of steam) and to raise monies for a good cause an added benefit.
 
So thank you again for all your support.
 
Steve

 




Bristol Half Marathon 2009

Thank you to Tamsin Phillips, Seb Denno and Mike & Suzy Berry for running the Bristol Half Marathon and raising money to support the work of unseen(uk).

Between them they raised almost £500, which is a superb achievment. They also all completed the race, which is an equally impressive feat!

To search for their results, visit the Bristol Half Marathon 2009 Results page.

 






Three Peaks 2009

The 3 Peaks Challenge as re-told by one of the surviving team members

Well, it's over and we made it round the 3 peaks.... Unfortunately not quite in the 24 hour limit, we took the 'leave no man or woman behind' tactic and coupled with some dubious satellite navigation and certainly a little faffing, we ended up knocking the lot off in 28.5 hours (Some of the team made it in 25 hours!)

The breakdown went something like this:

• Started Ben Nevis at 5.20pm on Friday. Severe Blizzards on top and couple of feet of snow. Up and down in 5 hours 20 min

• Scarfell Pike started at 7am, done in 3 hours 45min. Once again snow on the peak, horizontal cutting wind, rain and snow.

• Snowdon start at 4.10pm, finished in 4hours 50min. No snow surprisingly, however Fell Race cancelled due to lost teams! We were going in as the rescue helicopter was coming out!

So in all 8 of our initial 11 strong team completed all 3 peaks, which is a 73% success rate, slightly better than the Fell Race where 80 of 300 finished (a rubbish 27%)!

Everyone is well, a few blisters and sore knees but at least we avoided the dreaded snow-blindness! Many many thanks to everyone who sponsored us, it really helped at the lower moments (pushing through the gale-force wind, sitting in smelly damp car, putting on cold, wet clothes, having no hot food for over 24hrs...) and many thanks for the comments too!

There is still time if you would like to retrospectively sponsor us - go to Just Giving and you can view it as getting 4.5 extra hours for your money!

This feat was also featured in the Airbus internal magazine!