On behalf of BJJHQ, 93 Brand, Tatami Fightwear and myself, we want to thank all the hundreds and hundreds of people who supported our campaign to raise funds for RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) and Rape Crisis (England & Wales). I am humbled by the many, many messages of support for the campaign and acknowledgment of why we were doing this.
Here are the results of our fundraising, as of Friday 1st March 2013:
Heavenly Footlock t-shirts sold through BJJHQ: 757
Amount raised for charity: $8,919.25 USD
Heavenly Footlock t-shirts sold through Tatami Fightwear: 164
Amount raised for charity: £1,148 GBP
In total then, the whole campaign raised over a staggering $9,680!! Or, if you are a Brit, that almost £6,500!! Not to mention the fact that a quite jaw dropping 920 (and counting) t-shirts were sold within the space of just a few days.
The sums raised by the BJJHQ sales will be donated to RAINN next week and the amounts raised through Tatami Fightwear sales will be donated to Rape Crisis (England & Wales) once all the tees have sold out - which hopefully will be around next week or soon after at this rate.
Once again, an amazing result and wonderful show of support for such an important cause. The money we raise can't take away the pain and the scars of sexual violence and rape but the work these charities do offer vital support to those affected plus raise awareness in our communities. But there is so much work still to do. In the US, each year there are a reported 200,000 victims of rape or sexual assault. 44% of those are under the age of 18. In the UK, the figures make equally grim reading. According to government statistics, over 85,000 women in England & Wales are raped each year. There are also over 400,000 women who are sexually assaulted each year. It is also worth factoring in that an estimated 50% of rapes are not reported.
That's why I'm going to work on another event, to raise funds for Rape Crisis - the 2013 Grapplethon!
Remember last year's event? Where I grappled for almost 24 hours straight? Well we're all doing it again. The venue will be Gracie Barra Bristol again, and the date is 4th May. I'll try to roll for as many hours as I can.
My fundraising page for donations is here: http://www.justgiving.com/meerkatsu2013
Please feel free to donate generously!
And here is a poster to advertise the event:
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Brilliant work, Seymour: looking forward to seeing you again at the GrappleThon! :)
ReplyDeleteFacebook event page here, if anyone reading this is interested in taking part.
This has been a great achievement and it is such a hard area to support within charity groups as it leaves people feeling uncomfortable. This is a fantastic way to raise money for Rape Crisis and RAINN. I work with easyfundraising.org who basically take a small amount from any individuals on-line purchases from the retailers end and can donate it to you chosen charity then at every purchase you are helping others once its sets up it is fairly automatic as massive companies like ebay, amazon, m&s and most high street are involved. Once again this is an awesome way to raise funds, the t-shirt are really cool.
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