Our guest speaker: Natalie Levin, Youth Adventure Trust

Sandwiched between President Ann and Kathy Hobson is Natalie Levin, the guest speaker at this meeting.   Natalie is the Philanthropy Manager at the Swindon-based charity, The Youth Adventure Trust.

The Youth Adventure Trust uses outdoor adventure and one-to-one support to empower vulnerable young people, aged 11-16 from Wiltshire & Swindon, to fulfil their potential & lead positive lives in the future.   It helps up to 360 young people a year.   It helps each young person to build on their personal strengths through individualised support and feedback, enabling them to become reflective, see their abilities and challenge themselves to develop in the ways which will help them in the long term.

Since it began more than 30 years ago, the Youth Adventure Trust has helped 1,960 vulnerable young people and has facilitated more than 430,000 hours of activity participation.  This broadens the horizons of young people who would otherwise be unlikely to experience such valuable opportunities.

There are four different programmes, all completely free of charge. 

1.    The Adventure Programme runs over 3 school years, from Year 7 to Year 9, and includes 3 residential camps and 8 different one-day activities. The young people are supported throughout by a dedicated Programme Manager.

2.    Launched in 2023, the Resilience Programme is a year-long programme which includes monthly activity days, supplementary take-home activities, and a coherent thread that guarantees a progressive and meaningful experience.

3.    The Mentoring Programme is for selected young people who have completed another YAT Programme but are identified as in need of further, more individualised support. It includes fortnightly one-to-one sessions with a volunteer mentor for up to one year.

4.    All young people who have completed a YAT Programme can apply for the Bursary Programme for assistance with kit, membership fees or travel costs to support their next step into ongoing positive activities.

Young people are nominated for YAT programmes by designated referral partners such as secondary schools and young carer organisations across Wiltshire and Swindon.  The Trust works closely with these partners to ensure each place on a programme is given to those who need it most.  All the programmes have a strong emphasis on personal development, self-awareness, setting of goals and aims, and support to reflect on and take ownership of outcomes. 

The Youth Adventure Trust has a team of 200 volunteers to run the Programmes and run the challenge events.  In 2022 it filled 335 volunteer places and received 11,768 hours of volunteer time – the equivalent of 32 hours per day, every day of the year, which would have cost £111, 796 if each volunteer had been paid a living wage.

A place on a YAT Programme costs an average of £3,900. With no government contracts in place YAT relies on the support of generous individuals, businesses and grant funders to deliver its services.

Rotarian Kathy Hobson articulated some sincere words of appreciation to Natalie for speaking to us and congratulations for all the good work that the Youth Adventure Trust does.