LJMU’s Survivors Society has won the Bright Network Fundraising Award and £500 of sponsorship money.
The award was well earned for them after they collectively walked 350.16km for Bookmark’s Walk for Words challenge.
Bookmark is a charity that aim to help every child learn to read. Their Walk for Words initiative, collaborating with the Bright Network, helps children find the love of reading and support their future.
The Bright Network says: “A child who reads 1-2 times a week will hear 58,908 more words by the time they’re five years old than a child who doesn’t read.”
The Survivors Society was created by students at Liverpool John Moores University as a safe space and community for victims of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse to share experiences with one another.
Members of the society not only completed hundreds of walking miles but also raised well over their £100 fundraising goal.
Emily Kvam, President of the Survivors Society said: “We’re extremely grateful for winning the award, it wouldn’t have been able to happen without the committee’s teamwork and our members all coming together.
“We are a really strong community of students all with good hearts.
“Winning the award has given us a huge confident boost and gave us the reassurance that we are helping make a difference”
Survivors will be donating half of the £500 Bright Network sponsorship money to a survivor-based charity and using the other half to advance their society.
Shaquita Corry, VP Education at Liverpool John Moores Students Union said: “It is amazing to see how many members the Survivors Society has and how they’re a really great form of peer support.
“They create a sense of community and raise awareness for really serious topics that are often shied away from.”
The society is open for any student from any background, gender, race, age or sexuality and is another way to discuss experiences without it being to an authority figure.
“They highlight the need for inclusive safe spaces, because there are so many different types of people in Survivors Society and it shows how much we need more safe spaces like this society. They are amazing and I am excited to see what they will do in the future.”
Emily Kvam added: “We aim to continue fundraising and charity work in the future to remind people that despite all the bad, there is still good in the world.”
