Valentine’s Day is all about love and caring for others, so it seems like a good time to think about helping charity. At Artemis BJJ, we will be doing our bit through an event on the 12th April, known as a ‘GrappleThon’ (there is further information on the Facebook event page). The concept is simple: over a twenty-four hour period, there are at least two people sparring.  You can read more about it at GrappleThon.org.

We have decided to support local charity Kinergy, a great organisation Dónal works for as a counsellor. They provide professional counselling to survivors of sexual abuse and rape, helping them move on with their lives. Here is what Dónal has to say about how Kinergy make the world a better place:

“It’s an amazing charity with 22 volunteer counsellors that see up to three clients every week. Kinergy offers a year’s free counselling and is open to everyone, regardless of location, age or gender. It’s hard to put into words how amazing it is at Kinergy.

The waiting list is a year long: due to the lack of funding, Kinergy was forced to not take on any more referrals. It is hoping for more funding to support the service and create more referral opportunities.

Some clients come to Kinergy trying to deal with the indescribable levels of abuse they have faced, attempting to express themselves and gain some sense of what happened. Kinergy can give clients the tools to support themselves in the future.

The counselling can potentially be a huge step for a client. I have met many clients that feel they can’t speak out to get the support they need. Some abuse is hidden and spreading this message of support, even if it only reaches one survivor, could be life changing for that person.“

If you would like to donate to the Kinergy Charity GrappleThon, please head over to our JustGiving team page, here. If you would like to take part – whether that is just heading down for a roll or joining in the fundraising yourself – then pop over to our Facebook or use our contact page to drop us a line.

To learn more about Kinergy or get in touch, email contact@kinergy.org.uk, head to their website or call on 0117 908 7712.