MEDIA: Fundraising walk to help vulnerable families

Canberra hairdresser, business owner, and 2013 Lifeline Woman of Spirit award recipient, Jenni Tarrant, is once again fundraising and giving back to the community.

Jenni created a fundraising event called Walk the Talk to raise money for vulnerable families in the local area.

"I suppose the name came from people saying they're going to achieve things and then they don't go ahead and do it. So it's about walking the talk," she told The Canberra Times.

"If we're going to raise money and awareness around family violence and trauma in young children, then we really need to put ourselves on the line and walk hard."

She teamed up with her personal trainer of ten years, Luke Harvey, from Alive Health Club Narrabundah to train and then walk together the 160 kms from Canberra to the NSW South Coast.

The duo walked a gruelling 40kms per day, consecutively. Jenni currently suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.

On her mycause fundraising page, Jenni said: “The pain and exhaustion of this walk are small compared to the physical and mental torment suffered by those surviving family violence, sexual abuse and neglect.”

Walk the Talk raised almost $30,000 for two organisations with great significance to Jenni: Toora Women Incorporated, who help refugees and survivors of family violence get back on their feet, and Act for Kids, who work to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect.

Jenni is very vocal about the horrific childhood she survived. She recently co-authored a book called Roar in which she shares her traumatic stories.

Jenni and Luke also used the opportunity Walk the Talk presented to raise awareness, speaking to the media as well as Alive Health and Fitness class participants before the event.

Jenni believes awareness is just as important as fundraising.

"I think it's just knowing that by doing these fundraisers we can open up and speak about what it means to have trauma as a child and the issues around domestic violence," Jenni says.

Read more about Jenni, Luke, their support team, and the challenges they faced on the long trek in The Canberra Times and 2EC Local News.

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