Ocean's Youth Trust South receives £5000 from #Willdoes

Ocean Youth Trust South is a charity which uses Adventure Under Sail as a personal development opportunity for young people aged 12-25, taking them to sea on their 105-foot vessel Prolific, to help young people develop confidence, resilience, team work, communication and more.

The £5000 awarded by #Willdoes is to fund places on their programme for disadvantaged and vulnerable young people from Dorset, sailing in the 105-foot vessel Prolific for a voyage lasting around 5 days. Sadly, due to COVID-19 Government restrictions, the Ocean Youth Trust South have not been allowed to sail at all this year and they hope to set sail in 2021!

Mark Todd, Chief Executive of OYT South, said: “The pandemic and lockdown has placed enormous pressure on young people, leading to a significant increase in anxiety and mental health problems. Once it is safe for us to run residential activities again, there will be a huge need for activities like ours, designed to build confidence, resilience, teamworking and communication. The grant from #Willdoes to Ocean Youth Trust South (http://www.oytsouth.org/charity.asp) will ensure that these opportunities will be open to disadvantaged and vulnerable young people who could not otherwise afford to take part. We are delighted to be working with #Willdoes and we look forward to making a real difference to young lives, in Will’s memory.”

In the new year Ocean Youth Trust South will start a campaign asking people to nominate a deserving young person to join them for an amazing FREE voyage. Someone who has struggled or been through hard times and needs a confidence boost or perhaps someone who is a young carer, or has shown an incredible act of courage. Perhaps someone deserves a treat. Perhaps you are concerned about a young person and want to give them a chance of a positive activity. You will be able to nominate for someone on their website once voyages are allowed.

We look forward to hearing all about it and sharing the updates with you as to how the #Willdoes £5000 grant has funded this amazing voyage for these young people.