The young people on our Mentoring Programme are matched with and supported one-to-one by a volunteer mentor. During their time together young people work on their personal goals, meet challenges and build confidence. In June one of our mentoring pairs demonstrated just that when they decided to take on not only a physical challenge, but a fundraising one too, and all in aid of the Youth Adventure Trust!
On hearing of our Wiltshire Three Peaks challenge, volunteer mentor Pam floated the idea to her mentee Rosie about participating in the event together. Rosie jumped at the opportunity to take part, and also really loved the idea of fundraising for YAT too. Rosie has enjoyed and taken so much from her participation in both our Adventure and Mentoring Programmes, so she felt really motivated by the idea of giving back to help other young people be able to take part. However, this 10k challenge was to be the furthest that Rosie had ever walked, so it wasn’t going to be easy…!
The pair created a fundraising page and Rosie also took a paper sponsorship form into school to raise money from her friends and teachers there.
On Saturday 13th June, the duo set off early as they embarked on their hiking adventure. Rosie felt a little nervous initially about this totally new experience and the prospect of the demanding hills which lay ahead. However, once they got started they quickly found their rhythm, enjoying some lovely sunshine as they walked.
They enjoyed chatting to other participants as they went and even managed to get some generous sponsorship from those they spoke to, an added bonus! Whilst energy levels waned at times, the pair managed to keep going and, with true YAT resilience, made it to the finish line in great time. Our congratulations to Pam and Rosie, what a brilliant achievement!
At the finish line Rosie shared the following thoughts with our team:
“The reason why I wanted to do the Wiltshire Three Peaks is because I like helping people out by raising money for anything. So for the raising money thing I’ve done today, this whole time, is for the Youth Adventure Trust, and to help raise money for the mentoring sessions to help young people to actually do stuff that they want to do”.
Pam’s reflections on the experience:
“What a fab way to spend a mentoring session. Rosie pushed herself and we had lots of fun and ‘firsts’ on the way – including a magic daisy trick! I love seeing how determined Rosie is and her confidence is growing week by week. I can’t believe how much we raised, thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far”.
As of today, the pair have totally smashed their target of £250 with a fantastic £438 raised and counting. This money will go back into funding more life changing adventures for young people on our programmes.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a mentoring volunteer, please contact Becky@youthadventuretrust.org.uk.
If you’ve been inspired to take on a challenge you can find out more about our events at https://www.youthadventuretrust.org.uk/support-us/how-to-support-us/take-on-a-challenge/ or support us at https://www.youthadventuretrust.org.uk/donate/.