Wiltshire PSCOs Attempt Double Marathon Kayak For Pride

Two PSCO members of Unison Wiltshire Police & Justice branch will be fundraising for Swindon & Wiltshire Pride by attempting a double kayak marathon later this month.

The two LGBT reps, PCSO Lee Hare & Kate Jackson-Collier, will be undertaking the two kayak marathons to raise funds at Lake 12 in the Cotswold Water Park, located just north of Swindon. The two marathons will total a massive 52 miles each over two days.

PCSO Hare told the Swindon Advertiser : “We will get through the whole thing with the motivation of getting some money together for Pride. We are both members of the Paddle Club at South Cerney, although we are no experts, and this challenge is probably going to kill us. There’s no point doing something if it’s easy though.

“We had meant to do it last year but with the weather we had at the time we thought we would save it until now. We have already done a cake sale, which raised £100, and so far we are up to £130. While we would love to get £500, anything more than that would be brilliant. We just think £500 is achievable.”

Swindon and Wiltshire Pride is a free event that is open to everyone, organised by volunteers for all to enjoy. The event is a safe and fun environment for members of the community to come along and meet new people and make friends. It also helps break down barriers and build bridges between the LGBT and non-LGBT communities, it helps to educate and remove pre-conceived judgements that people may hold regarding individuals that identify as LGBT and access to many various support services.

The event, which is now in its 8th year, last year attracted a crowd of 2,500 visitors, as well as many local LGBT groups and performers.

You can donate funds towards the marathon by visiting the Go-FundMe page.

More information about the Pride Event can be found on the Swindon & Wiltshire Pride Website