The Wave Project

🌊 Every donation counts! If we can raise £50,000, we will be able to support 125 more children through the transformative power of #surftherapy next year! Your donation will help young people build confidence, improve their mental health and find a community of likeminded people. 💙 Please donate today: https://lnkd.in/eCXDJB7T Big Give #mentalhealthmatters #londoncharity #london #supportchildren #christmaschallenge #biggive

⏳ Only 4 days left to reach our £50,000 goal - and we need your help! Your donation to our #ChristmasChallenge can make a huge difference: 💙 £25 means we could adapt a wetsuit, ensuring every child can join in 💙 £60 could fund a #SurfTherapy session, changing a young life Thanks to the Big Give, every donation is doubled 👉 https://lnkd.in/eCXDJB7T #BigGive #SupportYoungPeople #MentalHealthMatters

💙 Fred, Our amazing Regional Lead for Cornwall shares why the Big Give #ChristmasChallenge is so important and how your support can help us reach even more young people through #SurfTherapy Every donation you make will be DOUBLED until the 10th of December - together, we can create a brighter future for children and young people who need it most. 👉 Please support us today: https://lnkd.in/eCXDJB7T #BigGive #MentalHealthSupport #DonateNow

🌊 "Surf Therapy comes in many different forms. Whether it's riding waves, standing up, or laying down, or maybe just playing in the water. Whatever Callum wanted to do, well that's what we did. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to mentor Callum. We've been on an amazing journey together. He's the ultimate surfer dude." – Craig, Callum’s Surf Mentor Callum, a young surfer with complex needs, found confidence and joy in the water thanks to our #SurfTherapy programme in #Bude. With his mentor Craig, Callum was able to connect with the ocean in his own way, and it has transformed his life! But we can’t do it alone. From the 3rd to the 10th of December, your donation to The Wave Project will be doubled through the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Your support could help more children and young people like Callum thrive through Surf Therapy 👉 read the full story and donate today: https://lnkd.in/eXSqe64e #ChristmasChallenge #GivingTuesday #Cornwall

We have been so happy to welcome Zach into our Surf Club sessions in Scotland 🌊   Zach completed his #SurfTherapy course in Devon, and after his family moved to Scotland, he was keen to keep coming to the beach. Zach has dyskinetic cerebral palsy and cortical visual impairment which you may think would hold Zach back from surfing. Medical professionals told him he wouldn’t be able to surf standing up. However, Zach’s determination, along with the support of our amazing volunteers, has helped him catch unbroken waves in Scotland! But we can’t do it alone. From the 3rd to the 10th of December, your donation to The Wave Project will be doubled through the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Your support could help more children and young people like Zach thrive through Surf Therapy 👉 read the full story and donate: https://lnkd.in/etpHHm8C #GivingTuesday #ChristmasChallenge #Scotland

💛 Hear from our amazing team member Joanne about the impact that #SurfTherapy can have on young people's lives. During this year's Big Give #ChristmasChallenge all donations will be doubled, meaning we can double our impact. Please support us today, we'd really appreciate it: https://lnkd.in/eCXDJB7T

💙 Not only is it #GivingTuesday but it’s also the International Day of Persons with Disabilities! At The Wave Project, we’re committed to making the ocean a space for everyone. Our #SurfTherapy programmes empower people of all abilities, including those with physical and mental health challenges, to experience the freedom and joy of surfing. Your contribution can help more people of all abilities build confidence, resilience and strength through surfing. All donations to The Wave Project are currently DOUBLED through the Big Give #ChristmasChallenge 👉 https://lnkd.in/eCXDJB7T #BigGive #IDPD #InclusiveSurfing #InclusionMatters #DisabilityRights

🌊 Donations are now open for the Big Give #ChristmasChallenge! Too many children and young people face mental health challenges without access to the support they need. Through #SurfTherapy, we create safe spaces where they can feel empowered, connected and understood. This week, your donation can go even further – every pound you give is doubled! Help us continue our mission of making a positive impact in young lives: https://lnkd.in/eCXDJB7T 🎬 Huge thanks to Moose Toys for creating this video! #GivingTuesday #BigGive

Get a stunning calendar of snapshots from our Scottish Project location - featuring 12 inspirational images from our #SurfTherapy sessions 👇

This is a personal post. At The Wave Project we are always positive and encouraging. It’s difficult to be that today, hence writing in a personal capacity. A rant….. The amazing Cornwall Wave Project team had organised their annual Santa Surf at Fistral Beach in Newquay for today, Saturday 30 November. 35 Children with their families, 25 volunteers and The Wave Project staff were all getting ready for this wonderful event. Conditions were perfect: mild weather conditions, with warmer southernly winds, sheltered by cliffs, no rain. Incoming tide with fun white-water waves expected. But a sewage overflow late on the 29th meant that, not for the first time, the session had to be cancelled. At South Fistral beach alone there were 41 storm overflows activated this year. And after each overflow we are not allowed (due to our insurance) to enter the water for at least 24 hrs. Creating safe spaces, with trusted adults, building a community, making the most of the therapeutic powers of surfing and the healing powers of the ocean. That's what this charity does, improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people. And 1 in 5 young people now have a diagnosable mental health issue, so this is so needed! But an ocean full of sewage is not a safe space - not good for your health and wellbeing. Cornwall’s coast, and the British coastline in general, is stunning. But the water system is broken. The Wave Project has, at least up to now, had a policy of not getting overtly vocal about the state of our waters. Our friends at Surfers Against Sewage, and others, do an amazing job at that. They deserve the support from all of us to help bring about change. And the charity’s focus is purely on improving the health of young people through Surf Therapy. The team work so hard to help our surfers be and feel in a safe space, and talk a lot about the health benefits of being in, on, under or near water. It gets confusing if they then have to say that - what we told you was safe and good for you is unhealthy and dangerous today. This is a political issue, and something our politicians can and should solve. Sewage overflows damage our environment, affect our health, and with that also our economy. So many businesses rely on the beauty and safety of our ocean, especially in beautiful places like Cornwall. Today’s cancellation of the Santa Surf, where dozens of people would have gathered, is just one example of how South West Water is doing significant damage to the health and wellbeing of our young people. And not just them… This affects us all. The pictures are from last year’s amazing Santa Surf … and show what could have been today. Rant over, but the determination to work with others to bring about positive change is only strengthening.