“It’s just getting the kids out of the city a lot of the time. Some of them, it’s hard to believe, they’ve never seen a horizon or never been to the beach before.”
Taking vulnerable young people from inner-city London out to the coast to experience the benefits of surf therapy, the Wave Project London is the first-ever City to Sea Wave Project.
Working with young people from the central London borough of Southwark, The Wave Project London runs six-week therapeutic surf therapy courses. The courses start off with three sessions of paddleboarding at Beckenham Lake, before the youngsters hit the waves for the first time at Southwick Beach. The results have been transformative, with participants seeing their confidence and connection with their community grow as a result of being involved.
As well as the surf therapy courses, the Wave Project London also runs surf clubs, socials, events and training in London and Southwick.
Through their Warmth Project, dryrobe’s support for the Wave Project contributes significantly to projects that help vulnerable young people from inner cities experience the benefits of surf therapy.
A large portion of dryrobe’s funding will be used to support the Wave Project in London, helping to employ a Project Coordinator. Their role is pivotal in making the London projects a success, through building relationships with the young people and their families, as well as establishing and maintaining a community around the project.
The Wave Project started in 2010 as a voluntary group funded by the NHS in Cornwall, with the aim of using volunteers to provide one-to-one surfing lessons for young people with mental health issues as a way of getting them outside, doing physical exercise and feeling more confident about themselves. Encouraged by the outstanding results, The Wave Project was established as a not-for-profit company.
Since then, The Wave Project has grown and developed into an award-winning scheme, using the same methods of involving local surfers to help young people reduce anxiety and improve their emotional health. New projects have been set up all over the UK.
For more information on The Wave Project and how you can get involved to support their work, head to waveproject.co.uk. dryrobe® have also collaborated with them to produce a limited edition dryrobe® Advance, 100% of the profits of each sale go towards supporting this incredible charity.
The dryrobe® Warmth Project supports charities and non-profit organisations that share dryrobe’s values of promoting wellbeing through outdoor activity and protecting the environment. Find out more at dryrobe.com
