We know this time of year can be busy, so we’ve put together a few quick and easy fundraising ideas you can do in your community, with friends or at your workplace. Every penny you raise will go directly towards transforming the lives of vulnerable young people through our outdoor adventure programmes and one-to-one support.

Your Guide to Festive Fundraising

Here are a few simple ways to bring the Christmas spirit – and some vital funds – to the Youth Adventure Trust:

• The Christmas Jumper Day Challenge: Turn your office or school’s annual Christmas Jumper Day into a sponsored event! Ask everyone to donate £2 or £5 to wear their brightest, sparkliest and most ridiculous festive knitwear (tag us in to your socials as we’d love to see photos!).
• Festive Bake Sale & Hot Chocolate Stand: There’s nothing more warming than a homemade mince pie or a cup of rich hot chocolate (hot chocolates are a camp favourite with our young people!). Set up a stall in your school, in your work canteen or at a community event. Keep the goods simple and charge a small amount for a delicious treat.
• Wreath or Decoration Making Workshop: If you’re crafty, host a simple workshop. Charge an entry fee and teach friends or neighbours how to make a beautiful, simple Christmas wreath or paper decorations. It’s a great social event with a charitable twist!
• “De-Clutter and Donate” Sale: Use the pre-Christmas clear-out as an opportunity to raise funds! Ask friends and family to donate one high-quality, unused item. Hold a small pop-up sale in your home, community or work space – think stocking fillers, fancy biscuits or books.
• Shop and Support (For Free!): Shopping online this festive period? Raise free donations for Youth Adventure Trust when you shop 6,000+ stores online using Give as you Live Online!! Sign up easily at Give as you Live Online and select Youth Adventure Trust as your cause, and every time you shop through their portal, a percentage of your purchase is donated to us.

Your Christmas Challenge: Building Brighter Futures

Taking on a quick fundraiser is an incredibly rewarding way to give back this festive season. Not only will you have fun getting into the Christmas spirit, but you’ll be directly helping a young person gain the skills and confidence to thrive through a life-changing adventure.

We’re here to help you every step of the way, providing tips, support and resources to make your event a huge success.

Ready to sign up and make a difference this Christmas? We can’t wait to hear your ideas!

To register your event and get your fundraising pack, please contact Natalie on natalie.levin@youthadventuretrust.org.uk today!

The post Get Festive and Fundraise: Quick and Easy Christmas Ideas! appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

In the Wiltshire 3 Peaks Challenge on Saturday 8th June, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the stunning Wiltshire countryside and make a positive impact on the lives of local vulnerable young people. Choose how you do it (walk, jog or run) and how long you do it for (10k or half marathon), do it by yourself, with family and friends including the four legged kind! 2024’s adventure will see participants conquering the three iconic “peaks” of Wiltshire: Martinsell Hill, Milk Hill and Tan HIll. Expect a mix of challenging climbs and breathtaking views, all while helping Wiltshire’s young people.

If you want something a bit more, then the Beacons Challenge on Saturday 6th July is the answer. Dust off those walking boots (or running shoes!) and call upon your friends or colleagues to join you for this amazing route through the spectacular scenery of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Teams of between 2 and 6 people will be setting their compasses and heading out to hike either 6 or 10 different peaks, including the iconic Pen y Fan, covering an amazing distance of either 17km or 34km in one day!

Whether you’re looking for a team building day with a difference, or fancy a challenging day outside with a group of friends, or want to raise funds to help vulnerable young people, then choose the challenge that is right for you and join us! . But don’t just take our word for it. This is what some of the previous participants had to say:

“Even though the mountains looked daunting, as soon as we got there, the whole team made us feel like we could achieve it. During the walk when it was getting really hard I had to remind myself of what the young people go through which spurred me on even when it was difficult. I’ll be back next year!”

Dyane, Beacons Challenge 2023 Participant

“It was a super challenge, very well organised and for a really worthwhile cause”

Wiltshire 3 Peaks participant, 2023

Registration for both challenges is now open and we invite friends, families, colleagues, and individuals to sign up and come together, challenge themselves, and make a lasting difference to vulnerable young people.

Click here to sign up for the Wiltshire 3 Peaks Challenge or here for the Beacons Challenge. Get in touch with Philippa Cox to find out more.

The post Take on a Youth Adventure Trust Challenge and Change Lives – Are you up for the challenge?! appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

Lucy Holden has been a supporter and volunteer with YAT for many years. She shares what inspires her, what she’d like to see change for young people in the UK, and answers the most important question: her favourite adventure snack!

Lucy Holden

Deal Manager at Microsoft

Tell us about your background and experience:

I am a Fellow Chartered Accountant of ICAEW with almost two decades of experience in Business and Finance. I trained with PwC in Audit then Mergers & Acquisitions team, moved to Virgin Media and have spent the past 10 years at Microsoft as Business Finance and most recently as a Deal Manager. I am currently responsible for setting the strategy and negotiating large and strategic deals with customers across EMEA.

What inspired you to join the Youth Adventure Trust as a trustee? 

As I built my formal education, I spent many of my college and university holidays volunteering as a Group Leader on Youth Adventure Trust camps. During my training with PwC to be a Chartered Accountant, I worked with YAT CEO Mark on their 3-year plan, and thoroughly enjoyed taking this strategic perspective and supporting a charity close to my heart. I am now at a stage in my career where I believe I have business and finance skills and want to use these for a good cause, and so I was starting to consider taking a role as a Trustee for a charity, and YAT was my 1st choice.

What would you like to see change for young people in the UK?

It would be great to see earlier intervention and ongoing support for young people through schools and local authorities. I observed the benefits of YAT to individuals first hand and the support of the volunteers and programmes can be a very powerful instigator of change in a young person’s path.

How do you like to spend your spare time?

I live in Berkshire with my husband and 2 daughters (4 and 5 years old) so when I am not at work or taking them to classes, my time is spent going on adventures in local woods, doing art and crafts or playing imaginary games they design. I love to travel and regularly work-out doing functional fitness.

Favourite snack for a day of adventuring:

Kendle Mint Cake for a treat, or nuts and dried fruit if I am being sensible!

The post A warm welcome to our new Trustee appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

Back in 2018 Faith was referred to the Youth Adventure Trust because she had found the transition from primary to secondary school difficult; she had low self-esteem and confidence and often got anxious away from home. Faith really struggled on the programme and needed a lot of encouragement, becoming very homesick on her residential camps, but always engaging as much as she could. Her Programme Manager worked hard to support Faith on and off the programme, but recognised that the large group setting of the camps was proving a barrier to Faith getting the maximum benefit. Fortunately we also have a Mentoring Scheme that provides one to one support, and we were able to respond to Faith’s needs and flex our offer, so she could work with a mentor in a way more suited to her needs at that time.

Faith struggled with anxiety and during the pandemic this had increased. She needed support to build her confidence and resilience, and to become more independent away from home, especially around busy and crowded places where she felt completely overwhelmed.

In the summer of 2020, our Mentoring Manager met with Faith and her parents to find out more about the challenges she faced, and her hopes for mentoring. Faith shared that she would like a mentor to help her to talk to people she didn’t know and to regain the confidence that she once had, which had been lost due to bullying. More than anything, she wanted the confidence to smile again.

In the autumn, Faith was matched with Pauline. Pauline is laid back and calm, and has very similar interests to Faith. They forged a strong relationship from the outset, and Faith really appreciated having someone to talk to who didn’t judge anything she said.

‘She just lets me talk it out instead of weaving away from the conversation. It’s good talking to someone with an outside perspective so you’re not just talking to the people who know you best and will only give you the answer that they know you want to hear. I’m quite chatty but sometimes I do go a bit quiet so it’s great that Pauline will help start the conversation if I go a bit quiet because I’m worried about saying the wrong thing – she takes away the awkwardness’.

In their fortnightly sessions, they chose to do a variety of activities such as treasure hunts, walks, pottery painting and meals out. During their time together Pauline enabled Faith to share her worries and build her confidence with everyday activities which had been a barrier for her. Two of Faith’s highlights were experiencing going out for a meal and ordering for herself, and going to see a dance show at the theatre. It became clear that Faith’s confidence was increasing and she had begun to notice this in all areas of her life. We asked Faith what she was most proud of herself for;

“Probably to do with school – I’ve started putting my hand up and started to give answers, because I would never, ever do that before. Even though I’m 100% it’s the right answer, the chance of it not being not the right answer is probably 0%, but I would never take the chance. One of my weakest lessons is Physics and I’ve had a new Physics teacher and I don’t like meeting new people so that’s really nerve wracking. But that lesson, I’ve put my hand up each time – I feel like that is definitely because I’ve ordered food with Pauline. That’s a really big thing because I don’t  think I’ve ever in school put up my hand, not in primary school, so doing it in Year 10 now, it’s worth that I’ve finally done it – I feel like I can put my hand up more and I can give the right answers and the wrong answers.”

A visit to the theatre to watch a dance show was also a special experience for Faith. Alongside challenging Faith’s fears of being in a busy space with people she didn’t know, the performance also resonated with her;

“I used to be really, really confident. In primary school, something happened like bullying and things and I just stopped dancing. That’s why I liked that dance show last night because the woman had loads of things happening to her and she just stopped dancing – and that’s what I did for seven years. Then I got back to dance and I’ve talked to Pauline and started dance and it’s like I’m the same person I was when I was younger, I just didn’t show it.”

Faith used this new-found confidence to challenge herself outside of her sessions. She successfully applied to be Deputy Head Girl at her school and also conquered her fear of getting on a bus. As Faith lives in a different town to her school and friends, this made a huge difference and enabled her to meet with friends and travel to school independently.

In their final few months of mentoring sessions, Faith expressed a wish to  “do anything that can gain my confidence a lot more. The really basic things are the things I find the hardest, the day-to- day things make me so nervous. I’ve definitely gained more confidence but I just want to carry on doing things, whether it’s going out for meals, going to shows or doing activities, just gaining the confidence – the big bits, the little bits.”

In her final review meeting at the end of their mentoring year together, Faith reflected and shared that “this has been a really good experience; learning new things, doing new things, talking – it’s shown me this is how I can be and to hold on to it. Having one on one time with Pauline has really…it hasn’t fixed how I am, it’s got me to the person I always have been, it’s just been covered up for a really, really long time”

Faith’s parents were also keen to voice the impact of Faith’s sessions with Pauline;

“Once that little lightbulb went off in her head ‘I can talk to Pauline’ that was it. She was really good at not advising but saying ‘maybe you should try this’..or ‘have you tried that?’

It was just one of those situations where we all needed a fresh pair of eyes on the situation because we’d got in a rut. I knew it was going to be good but I never believed that this was going to be such a positive. It’s 100% something I would say to somebody ‘you really need to try this.’”

At the Adventure Dinner, we all watched in admiration as Faith stood confidently, spoke clearly and articulately, and shared her very personal story. She left no doubt that the support and input from the Youth Adventure Trust has been instrumental in her growth. The long term nature of the programme and the care invested by YAT’s staff and volunteers alike, have set Faith up for a bright and positive future, where she can fulfil her potential. We are so proud of you Faith, and can’t wait to see where the future takes you!

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and supporting young people like Faith there’s more information on our volunteering pages, or get in touch with the team.

The post Faith’s Story appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

Making a Will is one of those things that many people put off. However, a Will can be an important way to protect your family and loved ones. It can save on inheritance tax and head off family disputes about how your possessions should be divided. A Will is a legal document that sets out your wishes regarding what should happen to your estate when you die. If you die without a will, the rules of intestacy will be follow which may not be in line with what you would have wanted.

Youth Adventure Trust supporters can prepare or update Wills at half the normal fee, with 100% of your fee being donated by Goughs Solicitors to the Youth Adventure Trust. You don’t have to include a gift to Youth Adventure Trust in your Will by using this service, but we do hope you’ll consider including a gift of adventure to support our work, after you’ve provided for your loved ones.

• Single Basic Will: £175 plus VAT (normally £350 plus VAT)
• Married Couple Will: £225 plus VAT (normally £450 plus VAT)

To take advantage of this offer, please contact your nearest Goughs branch office and quote “YAT Wills scheme” when making your in person or virtual appointment:

• Chippenham Greenways – 01249475880
• Trowbridge – 01225762683
• Melksham – 01225703036
• Devizes – 01380726913
• Corsham – 01249712193
• Chippenham – 01249444499
• Calne – 01249812086

For more information about having a Will, Goughs have written two handy documents: 12 Reasons to Make a Will, and your to-do list before writing a Will.

The post Leaving the gift of adventure: Wills Month Feb 2022 appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

Ollie Robinson and Gabriella Wood share what inspires them, what they’d like to see change for young people in the UK, and answer the most important question: their favourite adventure snack!

Ollie Robinson

Key Accounts Director at Brandwave – The Sports Marketing Agency

Tell us about your background and experience:

I spent a lot of time growing up outdoors, participating and competing in a range of sports. I now live on the South Coast with my girlfriend and rescue dog Basil. I’m lucky to work with some of the biggest and most interesting brands from across the sports industry on a strategic and creative level to bring marketing campaigns and projects to life that can be seen all around the globe.

What inspired you to join the Youth Adventure Trust as a trustee? 

I was first introduced and started working with YAT a few years ago through my role at Brandwave. Since then, we’ve supported them on their marketing pro-bono and the awesome Hike Bike Paddle Challenge. Can’t wait for 2nd edition this summer! I’m a massive believer in the physical and mental benefits of getting outdoors, as well as a big advocate of using sport as a catalyst for positive change. After seeing the amazing work of the YAT, the programmes they facilitate, and their ability to transform young peoples’ lives through outdoor experiences, it really didn’t need a second thought. I’m humbled to join as a Trustee and looking forward to rolling up my sleeves to help make a difference.

What would you like to see change for young people in the UK?

In short, I’d love for all young people in the UK to see the outdoors as a place for them personally. Somewhere they can enjoy, however they want to. If they see someone on Instagram doing a sport they like the look of, it would be so good to make them feel encouraged and empowered to find out more about how to give it a go, rather than discouraged or disheartened by perceived barriers such as not having the right kit, or not living near rolling hills etc. There are tonnes of great initiatives and new opportunities cropping up daily that facilitate this so it’s really a case of keeping the momentum going! It’s never going to happen overnight but small steps in the right direction go a long way.

How do you like to spend your spare time?

I’ll most likely be found on the lanes or trails of the South Downs either riding my bikes or hiking. Gravel riding has been a lot of fun over the last 12 months! When it’s breezy, I’ll be at the beach kitesurfing or if it’s flat, out for a paddle on the SUP.

Favourite snack for a day of adventuring:

Now we’re talking! At this time of year, there’s always a Cadburys Cream Egg to hand. Love a halfway café stop & mega chocolate brownie too…

Gabriella Wood

Head of Operations at VSO

Tell us about your background and experience:

For the last 15 years I have worked within the International Development and Youth sectors, leading high profile Global Youth Development Programmes. The consistent thread across the programmes I have led is a focus on supporting the development of diverse young people; realising their potential and expanding their self-confidence and skills as they adapt to and overcome the challenges faced in new locations. I passionately believe in the impact and importance of experiential learning for young people at the transitional points in their lives and the ethos, values and work of the Youth Adventure Trust strongly resonate with this.
As an enthusiastic outdoors-woman, Mountain Leader and adventure enthusiast I relish sharing my experience, knowledge and love of wild places with young people; alongside promoting the possibility of sustainable adventure and the opportunities for personal development and well-being it provides. This core aspect of my character along with my professional skills drew me to supporting the Trust.

What inspired you to join the Youth Adventure Trust as a trustee? 

The Youth Adventure Trust is a remarkable and unique organisation, rooted in its community, which over time has developed a proven model of meaningful, long-term youth engagement which results in lasting change. In our ever more complex world, young people face new and demanding challenges but with the right support can also benefit from its many opportunities, carrying the spirit of adventure and living positive lives. Long term programmes, built on trusting and personalised relationships which connect young people with the natural world are more important than ever and I want to support the Trust in its work to provide this.

What would you like to see change for young people in the UK?

A big question….. above all for all young people to be supported to develop as resilient individuals with the confidence and skills to embrace the challenges and opportunities in our complicated world. At present inequality of opportunity can place limits on this incredible potential and I want to see a step change in how society supports young people’s whole development.

How do you like to spend your spare time?

I’m passionate about our national landscape, the often hidden places on our doorsteps and its magnificent wilder spaces and coastline. I spend as much time as possible exploring it by water and by foot. As an ML I take great pleasure in sharing these landscapes with others and particularly enjoy packing up a meal and eating outdoors in any weather.

Favourite snack for a day of adventuring:

I’m half French, half English so it’s a culinary mash up of the indestructible, calorie stuffed, malt-loaf and a saucisson which can stay in your back pack for weeks!

The post A warm welcome to our new Trustees appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

We had 190 young people enrolled on our outdoor adventure programme, suddenly set adrift with little in the way of support from schools or the local community. At that time, we had no idea how long the pandemic would last, and we worried about the long-term effects a lockdown could have on young people who were already in difficult circumstances. From the very beginning we were absolutely clear about our mission. The young people were our primary focus; how could we best support them in the short term and continue to have a positive longer term impact on their futures?

We wanted to respond quickly but also wanted to ensure we would provide safe and meaningful support. We had a number of things in our favour:

• a small, dedicated and creative staff team who usually worked from home;
• volunteers who have always been central to our delivery;
• a clear focus on what our young people needed;
• strong leadership confident about what was morally ‘right’ and practically possible for our organisation;
• a network of supporters willing to stand with us; and
• a well-established trusting relationship with our young people and their families.

In the first instance, we identified those who we felt would be most adversely affected by the lockdown and targeted our new online mentoring provision towards them. Thanks to our funders who allowed us to be flexible with their grants and our donors who continued to trust us to spend their gifts wisely, we were able to provide direct support and engagement to these young people. We encouraged them to get active outside where they could, challenge themselves and have the opportunity to share their frustrations and concerns. The volunteer mentors supported the young people through the long drawn-out months of lockdown, the challenges of a summer with limited opportunities, and during the back-to-school transition period.

In addition to this online offer, we thought about what all our young people lacked most – access to the outdoors, motivation to leave their screens and encouragement to engage in physical activity. We had to adapt our offer from taking young people out to have adventures to bringing adventure into their homes. We transformed our view of outdoor adventure with the realisation that it is not about a place, nor about an activity, but rather about a mindset.

We got creative, running a whole host of initiatives to keep our young people engaged with the outdoors and nurture that ‘adventure mindset’. A virtual Coastal Camp saw people kayaking in their bathtubs, raft building in their fish tanks and surfing on their ironing boards. The Summer of Adventure, supported by The North Face Explore Fund in association with Ellis Brigham, challenged them to get outdoors every week in the summer holidays, with activities ranging from natural scavenger hunts to camping in the garden. Outdoor adventure became a virtual activity until the door to the outdoors opened again.

In October and February, we were once again able to see our young people in person. The activity days we ran followed strict Covid protocols, but gave them the chance to reconnect with the outdoors and with each other. With some young people telling us that they’d barely stepped outdoors other than to go to school, the sessions served as a good reminder that without organisations like ours, the outdoors remains inaccessible.

As we look once again to the future, we recognise that getting young people outdoors has never been more needed. It’s important that we don’t simply go back to doing what we used to do; instead, we must capitalise on the momentum we have gained from adapting to face adversity, consider what opportunities we have to develop our model and find new ways of harnessing the outdoors to increase our capacity to help more young people. As an organisation we need to be at the forefront of change, playing our part in the government’s levelling up agenda, showcasing through our work the massive impact the outdoors can have on peoples’ health and wellbeing and highlighting the need to make the outdoors more accessible.

We have an opportunity to shape the future for the next generation, and the door to the outdoors must stay open!

The post When the door to outdoor adventure (nearly) closed appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

“As we see our virtual Finishing Line approaching, we are lining up with the other Youth Adventure Trust athletes; not in competition but in solidarity, cheering and encouraging each other on to reach the target we have each set for ourselves.

“People from different parts of country have set their own challenges to walk, run or cycle to raise not just funds for an inspiring organisation, but to raise resilience in ourselves at a time when perhaps it is needed more than ever.

“We are a family of four living in Dorset, with two young children; aged 3 and 1. Our challenge was to cover 25km of local walks this week. We’ve had great fun exploring footpaths, alleyways, fields, rivers and woodland. We’ve spotted birds, collected sticks, watched tractors and even seen our local sewage station (the children were enthralled). We’ve splashed through puddles, walked in the rain, trodden in dog poo and been blown about by the wind. Our hallway is covered in muddy footprints, the washing machine has been on the go all week but our cheeks are rosy and the children are happy (and sleeping really well!!)

“The resilience challenge has given us a focus for our walks and a target to aim for. It has pushed us to walk further, to go outside despite the wind and the rain, and helped us discover where all our sewage goes…

“So thank you, Youth Adventure Trust, for setting this super challenge and a big Well Done to all the other adventurers, athletes and puddle-splashers who will be reaching their finishing line in the next few days. We’re already thinking about where we might go next and we hope others will continue to go on adventures of their own.”

Thank you Rachel and the Lewis family!

The post Resilience Challenge: building resilience & funds with every kilometer appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

ASDAN is an awarding organisation whose qualifications help young people develop knowledge and skills for learning, work and life. ASDAN credits are nationally recognised, meaning young people come away from our programme with credits they can use in their future lives. ASDAN is a great way to recognise young people’s achievements outside of what is usually measured or assessed in their education, so is a really positive way to celebrate achievements and build self-belief.

For each camp a young person attends, they receive an ASDAN credit for the work they put in during this time, which includes setting aims, reviewing, reflecting and striving to develop in areas they have identified. At the end of their time with us we present each young person with a certificate from ASDAN, acknowledging their success and dedication to the programme. Being formally recognised gives a real sense of achievement and is a huge boost to many of the young people we work with. It allows them to see that they are capable of gaining recognition through alternative avenues, and helps them progress towards other learning, training, or employment opportunities in the future.

In 2020 our programme was heavily disrupted by the pandemic, but we were able to offer alternative ways for young people to achieve at home through our ASDAN accredited Thrive Award. The award encouraged young people to Volunteer, Create and Challenge themselves in new and innovative ways. We were very impressed with the effort young people put in to achieving their award; from litter picking and cleaning a war memorial, to cooking for their family and learning sign language, more than 50 young people successfully received an ASDAN credit certificate for taking part.

To find out more about how YAT works with ASDAN you can read more on their website; https://www.asdan.org.uk/courses/case-study/customised-accreditation

“I feel much more confident and enjoy life. I’m making the most of it. I want to go on to uni and travel the world because being part of Youth Adventure Trust made me want to do things like this.” Callum, age 16

The post Celebrating with ASDAN appeared first on Youth Adventure Trust.

Athlete and adventurer Mel will join Youth Adventure Trust’s CEO, Mark Davey, on Wednesday 27th January, 7pm, to share how we can challenge ourselves to achieve more than we thought possible. Very timely as some of us might be struggling with getting outside and the January blues…

London and Rio Paralympian, Mel, lives adventure and is racing her way worldwide. A series of life changing strokes as an independent, fit and healthy young woman, a life devoted to horses, a rider, runner, cyclist and all round adrenaline junkie, left Mel unable to walk or use much of the left side of her body in 2008. Fast forward four years, after watching the Beijing Paralympics from her hospital bed, Mel raced in front of an 80,000 home crowd and the rest of the world, in wheelchair racing at the London 2012 Paralympics. Just 15 months after taking up the sport.

Mel went on as part of the GB Athletics team to represent her country for the next 4 years, achieving track world records, European and World major medal success and becoming a Paralympic finalist at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. At the end of 2016 Mel made the move from track to turn her focus to endurance and road racing in wheelchair racing and her new sport of handcycling. In her first season on the GB team, she achieved international medal success.

Mel’s workplace is the great outdoors and she brings a unique take on adventure with disability, the female role and as a sportswoman. Her love of adventure and wild places shine through in her passion for storytelling, in her blogs and writings, and developing project work in encouraging and supporting anyone facing barriers to get active outside.

Register now to secure your place . Be ready with your favourite fire-side brew and any questions you want to ask in the live Q&A – see you there!

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