Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page; spare me a thought on Sunday 9th June (for about 8 hours of the day) when Rupert Turnbull and I set out to complete, if not compete, in this swim-run event on the Scilly Isles and in the Atlantic between the islands. 

I have supported the ALMT for many years and admire the breadth of causes they support in their mission to mitigate the suffering of children around the world. They are very streamline; all costs are absorbed by the Board of Trustees so every penny goes go to their charity partners.

One that resonates with me is the Ben Kinsella Trust (BKT).
BKT was set up in memory of Ben who was murdered in an unprovoked knife attack in Islington in June 2008 at just 16 years old. BKT’s main activity is the Ben Kinsella Knife Crime Awareness Exhibition, in Finsbury Library in Islington. The workshops, (for or up to 30 young people) teach -  in a safe space - young people about the dangers of knife crime and the emotions associated with living the experience. The workshops combine role play, video testimony featuring real life stories, quizzes and surveys. The young people move through 5 different themed rooms, guided by trained facilitators and actors who provide age-appropriate guidance, interaction and content. 

Shockingly, 1 in 2 young people don’t always feel safe walking our
streets and 1 in every 7 knows a friend who carries a knife. 

To date 10,000 young people have visited the exhibition, the majority (64%) aged between 9-11 years old. 87% say they learnt a lot about the consequences of knife crime and 86% said they had a better understanding of joint enterprise and the law how it is applied to knife crime. 100% of teachers said they would bring other groups to the exhibition.

The ALMT are supporting the Ben Kinsella Trust with £20k in 2019 to support them in opening a second workshop and exhibition space in Nottingham. In year one they are expecting at least 1,000 young people to attend the space and are busy forging partnerships with local schools as we speak. I have asked ALMT to designate 75% of what I raise to go towards BKT; the remainder will go to other good causes.

http://www.benkinsella.org.uk/

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