I have been very lucky throughout my life to spend time in the mountains. We were encouraged at school to join the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) which took us on regular weekends and week-long trips to wild places throughout the UK. Then at 17, I went on a British Schools Exploring Society Expedition to North East Greenland where we spent eight weeks mountaineering and reluctantly doing the odd bit of scientific work!

All these trips gave me a love of the outdoors and the unique physical challenge it presents. Camping, cooking, roughing it, sharing the laughs and the tears with friends and teachers. It brought me face to face with danger and on one occasion serious injury. Taught me to deal with blisters, discomfort, being cold and wet, and to understand that physical pain is usually temporary.

I was lucky because my school offered, supported and actively encouraged these activities and my parents could afford to fund them. I’m very aware that not every young person has these same blessings. So today I’m going to invite applications from teenagers who need a helping hand in the pursuit of their dreams.

I’m looking to support teenagers who need help fundraising to go on physical-adventures. We did a pilot of this scheme last year and helped a young man who was fundraising for the 2019 World Scout Jamboree helping him raise about £650.

It’s a two-way scheme that requires a commitment of time and effort from the individual, we don’t just write a cheque, nor do we provide raffle prizes and the like.  They will also spend time with us at our Nantwich unit learning life skills about the business of making and selling things.

We don’t support generic charities. I want to encourage individuals who need a helping hand to do something adventurous. If you or someone you love is on a mission to raise funds to go an adventure and are under 18, then please get in touch. The email must be written by the person seeking funding in their own words.

In your email, please tell me about yourself including your age, what your adventure is, why you want to go, and how much money you still need to raise.  It’s is an ongoing program with no start or finish date. We don’t have specific criteria for who or what kind of adventures we will fund. The question we will ask ourselves is, does this person and their reason resonates with all of us at Valentte.

Want to take this further? Please contact me and title your email The Valentte Adventure Fund.