DD Charity Update - April 2024

Spring is in full swing and it's time to really start exploring the outdoors!

For the last two months we've been working with Rock UK and Burlington YMCA.

Rock UK is a UK wide registered adventure charity, featuring 4 centers spread out throughout England and the Scottish Borders with a long history of getting young people out into nature. Conversely, The Burlington YMCA is a charity found in Vermont, USA! Despite the distance, the Burlington YMCA shares our vision and works tirelessly to provide the joys of nature and community to young children who otherwise may not have the opportunity.

Take a moment to read on and find out more about our partners and learn more about what they do!

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Rock UK is a storied and long running registered British charity with over a century of adventuring.

With 4 centres based in the Scottish borders, Northamptsonshire, South Wales and Kent, Rock UK is within easy reach for those all over the UK, each with it’s own unique features and activities.

Rock UK gives us a little bit of history;

“We are a Christian charity that is passionate about developing young people, bringing adventure into learning in the outdoors, to transform lives.

It all started back in 1922 when a group of Sunday school teachers decided to take their young people, who had never been away from London, to the coast to enjoy the countryside and the healthy sea air. Since those early days we’ve grown to a nationwide organisation with four centres across the UK and over 60,000 visitors every year.

Since we began 100 years ago, the essence of what we do hasn’t really changed. We give young people and those who are young at heart, a chance to experience exhilarating adventure in a safe and affirming environment. We help young people to push boundaries, widen their horizon, grow in confidence and discover capabilities they didn’t know they had. We welcome people of all faiths and none and provide a safe and friendly environment for them to be themselves.”

Rock UK make it a priority for all children and young people to enjoy the outdoors, making sure that no child is left out of the adventure – by offering bursary places to those less fortunate:

“We offer bursary places to children who would otherwise be unable to come. Every child should have the opportunity to challenge themselves and grow in confidence and it’s our belief that your group will benefit as a whole if everyone is able to join in with the adventure.

“Without the bursary the children would not have been able to go on the residential trip which had such a positive impact on their learning, understanding and the development of essential skills.” Lucy, School Teacher – South Wales’”.

With residential camps and accommodation with fully certified instructors, Rock UK provides over 40 outdoors activities to engage and develop children of all ages. This includes abseiling, bushcraft, biking, bouldering, watersports, geocaching, climbing and much more.

We have provided Rock UK with 20 sets of our DD Charity Edition Scout Hammocks and Tarps to further assist with expanding their bushcraft and outdoor adventure programs; we hope that all the staff and children at Rock UK enjoy exploring the outdoors with their new camping kit.

Find out more about Rock UK and the services the provide by visiting their Website and Facebook pages!

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Our second charity partner is the Burlington YMCA – specifically their summer camp for children and young people; Camp McBride!

Based in Vermont USA, The Burlington YMCA is a non profit charity branch dedicated to developing strong and healthy communities with child development at the heart of it. As part of the USA’s famous YMCA charity, they have a long and storied ethos and mission:

 “The Y is made up of people of all ages, from all walks of life, working side-by-side to strengthen communities. Together, we strive to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender, gender expression, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race or sexual orientation has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity. Our core values are caring, honesty, respect and responsibility - they guide everything we do.

The Y is dedicated to providing comprehensive programs and services that enrich communities - and all of the people who live in them - across the country in fulfillment of our mission. Guided by our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility, the Y is dedicated to giving people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity.

We believe that everyone — no matter who they are or where they’re from — deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential. Everything the Y does is in service of ensuring people and communities thrive. The Y is committed to partnering with young people to create stronger communities and a more equitable society for all of us. We envision a future in which all people get the support they need, when they need it.”

With the spring and summer now in full swing, the Burlington YMCA is working to provide children with the ultimate summer residential camp where they provide activities and development opportunities out in nature alongside courses such as boating, fishing, archery, roping courses and various others.

With this in mind we have been able to provide 20 sets of our Charity Edition Scout Hammocks and Tarps to help the Burlington YMCA create their ultimate Hammock Village within the adventure camp! This will allow the children residing there this summer and beyond to experience the joys of hammocking and bushcraft, all while developing their social skills and individual potential.

 We sincerely hope that all the children at the Camp McBride will continue to experience the joy and freedom of hammock camping for many years to come!

If you’d like to learn more about the YMCA as a non profit and the work they do, you can visit their Website and you can read more about Camp McBride and the Burlington YMCA on their individual Facebook page.

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Summer is just weeks away and now is the best time for everyone to really get out and enjoy the outdoors - no matter their social background, financial circumstances or mental health status.

If you know of a charity, group or cause with a focus on the outdoors and a passion for helping those less fortunate get out into nature that would benefit from some free outdoor equipment plus a spot on the DD Charity Blog to showcase their work, we would love to hear from you!

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

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