On Monday 18th August The Wilderness Foundation held a special TurnAround Graduation ceremony for six young people who have completed the twelve month programme.
The event was held to celebrate the achievements of the young people who all come from challenging backgrounds and who took part in a tough and demanding personal development programme with the Foundation. They were supported by friends, family, social services staff and among them a very special guest, the High Sheriff of Essex, Nicholas Charrington.
The evening consisted of inspiring and emotional speeches from the young people which drew tears of joy and pride from all in attendance, a celebratory meal and each of the young people being presented with certificates of achievement by the High Sheriff.
The TurnAround project is a nature based programme that offers vulnerable young people the chance to make positive changes to their life and future through a plethora of outdoor activities, excursions and workshops. This year the programme consisted of snow shoeing in the Pyrenees, kayaking and wild camping in Menorca, sailing with The Cirdan Trust as well as a number of personal development workshops and mentoring sessions. This year was also the first year that the programme offered peer mentoring.
Voice’s own Nichola Cain was in attendance and had this to say, “ The Turn Around project is first class and I have enjoyed watching and hearing about how these remarkable young people have grown and developed over the past year. The graduates stories were a true inspiration and it was an absolute pleasure and at times very emotional, to listen to each graduate talk about their own personal journey. I wish each graduate all the best of luck in the future. I personally look forward to working more closely with Turn Around in 2015”.
To learn more about The Wilderness Foundation and the fantastic work they do, visit their website:
www.wildernessfoundation.org.uk