I want to train toward something (and achieve a goal) knowing I have made money for a worthy cause, the London Marathon is done too often so felt like doing something a little bit different, and with Barcelona being such a beautiful city and the marathon being one of the biggest in Europe, I thought "why not!". I chose Stonewall because, as you can see in my story, they run purely on donation and fundraising. Also, their campaigns are endless and their work is close to my heart. Knowing that I am helping people who may find it a struggle to be homosexual and to ensure the charity keep up its good work with the resources it needs is a blessing of it's own but this cannot be done without your donations.

Stonewall was founded in 1989 by a small group of women and men who had been active in the struggle against  Section 28 of the Local Government Act.

Section 28 was an offensive piece of legislation designed to prevent the so-called 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools; as well as stigmatising gay people it also galvanised the gay community.

The aim from the outset was to create a professional lobbying group that would prevent such attacks on lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from ever occurring again. Stonewall has subsequently put the case for equality on the mainstream political agenda by winning support within all the main political parties and now has offices in England, Scotland and Wales.

Stonewall is renowned for its campaigning and lobbying.  Some major successes include helping achieve the equalisation of the age of consent, lifting the ban on lesbians and gay men serving in the military, securing legislation allowing same-sex couples to adopt and the repeal of Section 28. More recently Stonewall has helped secure civil partnerships and ensured the recent Equality Act protected lesbians and gay men in terms of goods and services.

Stonewall also works with a whole range of agencies to address the needs of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in the wider community. Its Diversity Champions programme offers advice and support to over 600 organisations including IBM, Barclays, Barnardos, DCLG and the Royal Navy.

Stonewall's Education for All campaign, launched in January 2005, helps tackle homophobia and homophobic bullying in schools and works with a wide coalition of groups.

More recently Stonewall has formed partnerships with organisations outside Parliament to ensure the rights and needs of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals are addressed in the wider community.

Stonewall has also raised public awareness in terms of civil partnership, through our Get Hitched guide, and on the changes to the employment regulations relating to sexual orientation through guides for both employers and employees.

In addition Stonewall promotes new research on issues such as hate crime, lesbian health and homophobic bullying in schools.

On 23 September 2003 Stonewall was granted charitable status (Charity Registration Number 1101255).

Alongside this expansion, their highly professional staff team has grown and is sustained by a committed band of dedicated volunteers and thousands of individuals the length and breadth of the UK.

Stonewall receives no public funding and raises all its money itself in a range of ways including donations,  sponsorship, and fundraising events.

Stonewall is a member of the Equality and Diversity Forum, a network of national organisations committed to progress on age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, and sexual orientation issues.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.