A CHARITY helping disadvantaged young people in Swindon has been given a cash injection by BBC Children in Need.

The Youth Adventure Trust, which uses outdoor activities to help 11-16 year olds grow in confidence and become more resilient, has been given a grant of £67,881.

The money – raised during BBC Children in Need’s 2019 appeal in November – will support the charity’s programme which helps vulnerable young people from Swindon and Wiltshire tackle challenges in their daily lives.

Director of programmes and development Tessa Woodrow said: “We’re absolutely delighted to receive this money from Children in Need. We’re thrilled to have their support, it’s meant a lot to us as a small local charity.”

The organisation takes on 120 young people referred by their schools each year to participate in residential activity camps doing canoeing, caving, rock climbing, raft building, and making their own shelters out in the woods.

Tessa said: “We have young people who are vulnerable for a wide range of reasons. Perhaps they are struggling with the transition to secondary school and have low confidence. They might be the victim or perpetrator of bullying.

"Some of our young people have difficult home experiences and they may be suffering from low self-esteem and mental health difficulties.

“We aim to give them the chance to have positive role models, to broaden their horizons and meet different people and have the chance to be who they want to be when they come away with us."

The pandemic means the funding for this year will now be used to provide online mentoring support, as well as residential camps next year.

“We try to teach them life skills for the future,” said Tessa. “Things that they can take back with them and to give them that sense of self-efficacy that they have the ability to influence their future.”

She added: “It’s a real privilege to watch our young people grow and develop and challenge themselves over the time they are with us.

“They do go on a real journey. It’s amazing seeing them prove to themselves that they can do so much more than they thought they could.

"Perhaps they discover that they are actually a great leader or a great friend or that they are kind – some of the things that they might really doubt about themselves."

YAT director of fundraising Louise Balaam: “Thank you so much BBC Children in Need. Funding means we can help children and young people develop hope, confidence and skills to ensure they can make the most of their future lives. Our aim is to improve young people’s overall emotional and mental wellbeing – new funding will allow us to do just that.”

Across Swindon, BBC Children in Need is currently funding nine projects to the value of £445,800.