Counternavig8 GB Row for Cambridge Acorn Project

My name is Simon and as a member of a crew of 8 rowers called Counternavig8 GB. We are attempting to set a Guinness world record by being the first crew to row around the UK mainland anticlockwise - hence 'The Row against the Flow'.

I am a resident of Cambridge and a club rower, and have in the past undertaken challenging expeditions both recreationally and professionally, but nothing as likely difficult and all consuming as this endeavor. The challenge will test me to my limits both physically and mentally, but allows me to use the sporting ability of a rower to create a platform for which to raise money for an charity that I very much wish I could have had access to during my own childhood.

Here is a short description of Cambridge Acorn Project's work:

We are a small local charity that has a huge impact on families and communities across Cambridgeshire. Our team is made up of dedicated Social Workers, Counsellors and Therapists.

We work with children and their families who have experienced domestic, sexual, emotional, and/or physical abuse. As well as this, we work with single-incident trauma such as house fires, floods, or traumatic loss.

Cambridge Acorn Project works with some of the most complex cases in Cambridgeshire including children who have witnessed murder and similarly horrific crimes. Many families we support have experienced profound intergenerational trauma.

How your fundraising could help to change the lives of children and their families:

Our work is about breaking cycles of trauma and poverty, tackling the inequality that stems from adverse childhood experiences, and helping children and families to emotionally recover.

It costs us between £1,000 - £3,000 a year to offer a full panoramic package of therapeutic support, which gives a real opportunity for a child and their family to emotionally recover.

It costs an average of £10 to fund one week’s enrichment activity for a child.

It costs £50 for one week of casework support for a family.

£70 funds one week of therapeutic support for a child and their family. This includes therapy and counselling for a child, as well as ongoing communication and support for the wider family.

£100 will fund a creative package of support to help families to build attachment in the home.

It costs between £25,000 - £50,000 to fund one of our local wellbeing hubs for a year.

Please feel free to investigate the good work of the Cambridge Acorn Project by checking out their website here: www.cambridgeacornproject.org.uk

PLEASE NOTE that I am funding my proportion of the expenses of the row personally, and your donations will either go directly to the Cambridge Acorn Project or towards the costs of administering further fundraising events that will themselves raise cash for the Cambridge Acorn Project.

Personal and corporate gifts/donations are both welcome.

Cambridgeshire may not be everyone's locality, but neglected and/or abused children need to be supported everywhere. If you would like to support my rowing challenge but sponsor a different charity of your choosing, I would be very happy to direct your funds to such other cause of your choosing.