This year, Cambridge Building Society is celebrating the third year of its charity partnership with The Outward Bound Trust. The Trust is an outdoor education charity which inspires young people between the ages of 9 and 24 to fulfil their potential through challenging outdoor experiences: It’s about raising self-esteem and preparing individuals to face the future with confidence. Young people from all over the UK undertake a whole range of adrenalin filled activities – from high ropes courses, the ‘terrifying’ trapeze, abseiling, rock climbing and kayaking to overnight expeditions and mountaineering, all in awe-inspiring locations in North Wales, the Lake District and the Highlands of Scotland at one of the Trust’s specialist centres. The impact can be life-changing; with the Trust’s highly experienced team of instructors, young people are taken on a journey, away from their everyday lives, giving them lessons for life.

The Trust is committed to raising money for bursaries and projects working towards their vision that all young people, regardless of their financial or social background, should benefit from an Outward Bound® experience. Last year, 27,000 young people visited one of the centres, with almost half needing financial support to make their ‘journey’ possible. Through Cambridge Building Society’s support, 117 young people have been able to embark on their ‘journey’, all of them from the communities in and around Cambridge.

Red Balloon, Romsey Mill and Crossroads for Carers – all local organisations – have been supported through the partnership, as have disadvantaged students from local schools: The Ivo, Ramsey College, Hinchingbrooke and St Peters Schools in Huntingdon and Sawston Village College. None of these young people would have experienced Outward Bound® without support from the Society. As ever, staff from across the Society have been crucial in making the partnership work for the benefit of the local community – from raising additional funds through the Society’s inter-branch bike ride, to visiting the local groups on their Outward Bound® courses to showing support at the groups’ local community presentations.

Annie, aged 16, participant on the Red Balloon course, sums up the thanks from all the young people who have been supported by Cambridge Building Society saying, “Thank you for giving me the chance to be more independent and learning that I can do things without quitting. I can survive out there in the big wide word thanks to this experience”.