Harry's campaign for Brook Farm Animal Sanctuary

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be taking part in some running events to raise money for Brook Farm Animal Sanctuary. These will be a combination of 10ks, half marathons, marathons and hopefully some other events such as duathlons and tough mudders.

Brook Farm is a family and volunteer-run sanctuary which is home to all kinds of animals. The majority of its residents are those generally considered ‘farm’ animals; they’re the lucky ones, who’ve been saved from slaughter and allowed to live out their days in peace and dignity.

Curious pigs, majestic cows, friendly sheep and gentle chickens share their home with those animals we have typically chosen as our friends and companions, such as horses, cats, rabbits and dogs. Each has their own personality, their own individual essence, and each is treated with the same love and kindness, giving the sanctuary a serene atmosphere, despite the best efforts of the remarkably noisy geese.

Their freedom is such that Wendy the sheep has chosen to live with the resident cow family rather than her own kind. They in turn hold no prejudice and accept her as their own. Little Wendy chilling at the back of the barn with her huge bovine friends is a heart-warming sight which beautifully encapsulates the ethos of Brook Farm.

For the animals that live here, and those people lucky enough to visit, the sanctuary is a kind of paradise, where no matter which species you belong to, you’ll be treated with equal care and respect.

It’s only through the generosity of those who support it that Brook Farm is able to continue providing a loving home for so many animals, so it’d be awesome if those of you who can and who want to could donate to the maintenance of this safe haven.

Space is limited at the sanctuary and animals are frequently turned away, but the owner has told me that, with the right funds, they’d like to extend their land, and so provide extra space for even more animals to be saved and given a home.

As well as raising money for Brook Farm, I’d like to use these events to raise awareness of various issues related to veganism and environmentalism.

For each event, I’ll write on Facebook about a different topic, with the aim of connecting with those of you who care enough about one or both of these issues to be open to learning about them and affecting them in a positive way.

Whenever I’ve posted about these issues, I’ve had friends contacting me, asking questions about them. I’ve seen old school friends in the pub who have told me they’re considering veganism after seeing my posts. Even those taking the piss out of the posts, along with my supposed lack of protein (haha), have shown me that the posts are encouraging them to think about things.

Essentially, I’ve found that this is an effective way to connect with people, with the end result being fewer animals suffer and less damage is done to our planet. My aim is to make more connections, to encourage more people to think about important issues, and to reach out to the compassion we all have within us.

If I can do this, at the same time as raising money for Brook Farm Animal Sanctuary, I’ll feel the time and energy will have been well spent.

For more information about Brook Farm, here's the link to their website: http://www.bfas.org.uk/

Thanks for your time    :)