Fancy abseiling from the top of the Trafford Centre for charity?
Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH) has teamed up with the Trafford Centre to hold a charity abseiling event on 19 – 20 September 2015.
Brave volunteers will be abseiling from the top of the 60m high Bell Tower, which stands in the car park at the entrance to the shopping centre.
The CEO of MASH, Cate Allison, will be taking part in the challenge herself and has encouraged as many people to join in as possible.
“I am terrified but it will be worth it to raise much-needed funds for the brave women we support,” she said.
“Please come and join us if you dare!”
All the money raised for MASH will be used to help Manchester’s vulnerable female sex workers, most of whom work off the streets, in saunas or in massage parlours.
MASH has been providing much-needed physical, sexual and mental health support to Manchester’s sex workers for over 20 years.
The charity is run mainly by volunteers, and is a vital resource for female sex workers who are often hard to reach and can be overlooked by health services.
The charity started in 1992 with just a single van, driven by volunteers who handed out condoms and clean needles to sex workers on the streets.
They now have a drop-in centre and a dedicated outreach programme, offering a wide range of services such as counselling, legal information, safety advice, STI screening, and support with rape and sexual violence. They have even started distributing lists of ‘dodgy punters’ to be avoided.
MASH reports that demand for their services has been increasingly steadily – in the last 12 months alone, the charity has helped almost 1,000 women in the Greater Manchester area, up 20% over the last 2 years.
To take part in the abseiling challenge the registration fee is £40, but this will be refunded if you raise £100 or more. No experience of abseiling is necessary, and all the equipment and training will be provided on the day.
If you would like to get involved and raise some cash for MASH, please contact Helen Clayton on 0161 273 4555 or [email protected] , or visit www.mash.org.uk.
Image courtesy of Elliot Brown, via Flickr, with thanks.
