Women's Aid staff to spread fairy magic on 10k run
Colleagues from Birmingham and Solihull Women 's Aid (BSWA) will run the Half Marathon and 10k in Lilac tutus, inspired by the organisation 's mascot the Lilac Fairy.
The Great Run takes place from 9.30am on Sunday 1 May in Birmingham city centre with a route that follows iconic landmarks around the city, from Digbeth and up to Calthorpe Park and Edgbaston Cricket ground.
Staff felt that the message of the lilac fairy was a positive one to share, and would get people talking about the very emotive subject of domestic abuse.
BSWA have been eagerly awaiting this year 's run since it was cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020 when the organisation would have celebrated its 40th anniversary of working in the city supporting women and children with a range of domestic violence support services.
Anna Fawcett, fundraising manager and one of the Lilac Fairy Runners at BSWA explained: “We 're so pleased to be back together running, even if this year 's event is bittersweet due to the delays, ”
“The Lilac Fairy is very important to us - at Christmas she brings presents to women and families in refuge, and other projects across the city, and we talk about her all year round. Having a friendly female figure really helps women and children we 're supporting get involved in the magic of special events like Christmas and other festivals around the year and we couldn 't think of a better character to bring some fun to our runners on the day! ”
BSWA supported over 20,000 women and over 14,000 children in 2020, the highest number ever, and as the complexity of cases grow, and the need for additional support such as interpreters, BSWA hope to raise an additional £100,000 with many activities over the coming years to support their work.