QOW 2024 Calendar Launch

IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!! Each calendar costs £20 and the full amount goes to charity. An additional £3 will be requested at the door (this is to cover printing costs for the calendar). If you wish to receive several calendars, please donate the updated amount and add your name and surname as the donor. E.g.

• For 1 calendar, please donate £20
• For 2 calendars, please donate £40
• For 3 calendars, please donate £60
• For 4 calendars, please donate £80
• For 5 calendars, please donate £100

INFO ABOUT THE FUNDRAISING...

Queers On Wheels was born in London in 2021 with the vision of building a community of cyclists, united by a passion for sports and the outdoors. We believe in inclusive sport, welcome all abilities and body types, and celebrate diversity. Most of our members are migrants who chose the UK as their new home country and understand the complexities of navigating cultural differences and adjusting to a new culture. We equally understand we are in a position of privilege as opposed to migrants who are seeking asylum due to their sexual orientation. As a reminder, it is still illegal to be LGBTQ+ in 64 members of the UN and 7 countries in the world impose the death penalty for just being homosexual.

With the above in mind, it is easy to understand why some LGBTQI+ people from these countries may be seeking asylum in the UK. They face multiple layers of marginalisation, isolation, poverty, racism, and xenophobia, they are often cut off from their communities of origin and rejected by their families because of LGBTQI-phobia. Many find themselves trapped in housing situations where they must ‘stay in the closet’ or where they are the victims of abuse. On top of navigating a complex asylum system, LGBTQI+ people must prove they are LGBTQI+ to secure refugee status with the only evidence often being their own words.

With our 2024 Queers On Wheels calendar, we'd like to support Rainbow Migration. They deliver one-to-one emotional support, support groups and casework to help LGBTQI+ people navigate and overcome the many hurdles they are faced with when going through the asylum system. They deliver free and confidential legal advice to help them secure their futures in the UK. They also campaign for a more humane asylum and immigration system. Your donation will support the delivery of their practical and emotional support services and legal advice for LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum.

If you can't attend the event to collect your calendar, you can nominate someone who is going to collect it for you (they just need to say they're collecting it for you). Any calendars that are unaccounted for will be sold at the end of the night.

Lastly if you wish NOT to receive a calendar but still contribute, you can simply add whatever amount you'd like and leave the donation as Anonymous.