DD Charity Update - August 2022

While people of all ages can enjoy the beauty and healing benefits of the great outdoors, there’s nothing quite like growing up in and experiencing the joy of nature from a young age.

Unfortunately however, there are large numbers of young people that do not have access, help or facilities to get out into the wide world of hiking, camping, conservation and other wild activities.

This is where our charity of the month, The Boathouse Youth, comes in! Read on below to find out more about The Boathouse Youth and the wonderful work they do!

Based in Blackpool, The Boathouse Youth is a registered UK charity with the sole goal of of providing high quality, in depth youth work through various educational and recreational activities to build confidence, restore self-esteem and above all else, bring joy to children and young people of many different backgrounds – with a focus on assisting those who are from low income backgrounds.

Established in 2009, TBY currently operate in two of Blackpool’s “most deprived” communities: Bloomfield and Grange Park. In 2021, they worked with 850 different children and young people with a record-breaking throughput of 27,000 engagements.

At the core of their objectives, TBY strives to “Break the cycle of deprivation” for children, young people and their families in Blackpool. They do this by removing barriers and creating opportunities that are engaging, relevant to their developing needs and enable positive relationships to form, so that every young person is able to realise their own potential.

In the words of The Boathouse Youth; “In order to stop today’s young people becoming the next generation of adults who live in poverty, we will enable them to make positive change in each next step of their lives – from cradle to career.”

To do this, CEO Laurance Hancock and his team provide a huge variety of free-at-point-of-service activities for young people in Blackpool, including outdoors forest school sessions, Duke of Edinburgh challenge groups, canal boating, cycling and other activities where children are encouraged to explore, learn and make friendly connections to last a lifetime. In particular, young members are given a taste of hammock life on an annual 3-week Summer Camp each August, in which 175 children and young people are offered a free 5-day experience to get out and into nature.

To help support The Boathouse Youth team and their work, we have made a donation of DD Charity Edition Hammocks and Tarps so that even more young people of Blackpool can continue to explore the outdoors. We hope that Laurance, his team and the children of TBY will enjoy them for many more annual camps to come!

 If you'd like to find out more about The Boathouse Youth and all the amazing work that they do for young people in the local Blackpool community, you can visit their Website, Facebook and Instagram.

Do you know of a charity, group or organisation that focuses on the outdoors and helping those enjoy the many positives of the natural world, or to help conserve it for generations to come?

If you think they would benefit from some free sets of hammocks and tarps, as well as a top spot on the DD Charity Blog to showcase their work, services and successes, we definitely want to hear from you!

Help us help others in need, and get involved by getting in touch with us via our DD Charity contact form.

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About the writer

Vikki

A regular on the hiking trails of Northern Scotland, Vikki loves nothing more than being in the great outdoors. When she's not pulling on her hiking boots or trail shoes, this DD Team Member can often be spotted in the gym or curled up at home with a sketchpad and pencil.