Fab Fundraisers

Over the years we have had so many amazing people fundraising for us, from bake sales to band nights to trekking the Mount Everest!

We thank every single one of you for your generosity and great achievements and want to share your stories with other people who might be interested in fundraising!

Here are some of the stories of these inspiring people from 2019 and before to highlight their achievements.

Every penny you raise helps make our surf therapy sessions as successful as possible and allow as many children as possible to access the surf.

November 2019

St Andrew’s University Students Union have been busy raising money for us all of 2019!

The students embarked upon amazing feats of endurance and ingenuity in raising over £21,000 for our Scotland project.

Congratulations to Ben and Helen Evans who ran the Great West Run this month in aid of The Wave Project.

The husband and wife duo raised over £400 along the way!

October 2019

Pompeii or Bust: Three amigos travelled from St Austell to Pompeii in a beautifully adorned £500 car, in full traditional Mexican dress – including sombreros.

They took part in the Banger Rally challenge and annual fancy dress (non racing) road rally from Cornwall to the continent, all in aid of charity.

Wave Project volunteer (and amigo) John said;

“We have driven from Roscoff to Paris and to Geneva in 2 days. The car is running great, we even had a trip to Le Man’s and through the Swiss Alps and are off to Florence tomorrow.”

Fundraisers pack

September 2019

Devonshire teacher Sadie Davies became a record holder this month when she became the first woman to swim from North Devon to Lundy Island for charity.

The open water swim covered 12 miles of open water, seasickness and the ever present threat of jellyfish.

Sadie completed the feat in just under nine hours and became only the fourth person ever to manage the crossing.

On explaining why she chose to support The Wave Project (amongst other charities) in her swim she said; “There is so much evidence to show that getting the sea and having a swim or surf makes a massive difference to your mental health and well-being.

Congratulations Sadie on an incredible achievement!

August 2019

This month Jo Moseley paddleboarded 162 miles along the waterways of the North of England. Starting in Liverpool, she's crossing the country from West to East along the Leeds - Liverpool Canal and Aire & Calder Navigation.

Jo has been beset by thunderstorms, torrential rain and mist so thick she can barely see through it. But she's making great progress and had reached Blackburn at the time of writing.

Speaking about her challenge Jo said: “I am someone who easily gets anxious and have always been a worrier. I know how being in the sea, wild swimming, bodyboarding or paddleboarding, really helps me find joy and a sense of calm. If I can help raise money to help young people build their self belief, confidence and friendship groups through such amazing surf therapy programmes, then every mile paddled will be absolutely worth it. “

Resources

July 2019

Dancing with the Dolphins: We were invited along to the Dunbar Amateur Swim Club Ceilidh this month where the awesome Dunbar Dolphins presented us with a cheque for £2,264.80! The money was rasied at their annual sponsored swim! Thank you so much DASC - we really enjoyed the dancing too!

Beach Hut Bands: Former surf therapy course participant Jori Aylett appeared alongside his band, Positive Anarchy, and local band The Eco Mods at our recent Beach Hut fundraiser.

Jori's confidence and self esteem has increased massively since surfing with us and the night raised a fantastic £350!

June 2019

Emma Hepplewhite raised over £2,600 for us this month by completing her first ever endurance paddle board race across the Norfolk Broads.

Emma completed the 70km course in 12 hours, 46 minutes and 22 seconds, said; “It was definitely tough, one of the toughest things I’ve done, but I just thought of the funds I had raised and the people it would help”
Alison Young from The Wave Project Scotland said: “We were delighted to learn that Emma was undertaking this mammoth paddle to raise funds for our charity. We rely heavily on funding and are so grateful to Emma for this donation which will allow us to continue to provide surf therapy in Scotland. This month we have welcomed 24 new surfers ‘on board’ and their time in the water with a surf mentor is literally life changing, boosting self-esteem and happiness and building resilience. Thank you Emma.”

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May 2019

Before surfing with us Elsa suffered from debilitating bouts of anxiety. After finding her confidence through surfing, Elsa became determined to help more people feel the benefits of surf therapy.

Setting herself an arduous challenge, Elsa swam 100 lengths of her local pool every week for a month and managed to raise an incredible £680 along the way!

“I’m really glad that the money that I’ve raised will be able to help kids like me to have such fun.” – Elsa

April 2019

The mum of one of our surf club members ran the London Marathon this month to support the charity.

Millie Bird's son Alex first took part on a surf therapy course in September 2016 and has been in our surf club ever since. Now, after training for two years, Millie is now ready to go.
She has already raised over £2,000 for surf therapy courses for other young people. Millie said;

"The charity helps children and young people with additional needs through surfing. It sounds so simple but the results are incalculable - it impacts on well-being, provides social interaction and then there's the physical activity in a blue gym which has endless, all-round benefits."

Our Wales project coordinator Holly Sayce is part of a team of 11 intrepid fundraisers who trekked to Everest Base Camp this month to raise funds for our work.

Our team of trekkers will be laced up their boots to take on the epic challenge on 12 April. We can't wait to tell you how well they've gotten on in our next newsletter but for now we just want to wish them the very best of luck on their adventure and hope they have the most incredible time!

Holly said:

"I am super stoked to be taking the seas to the summits and heading into the Himalayas in less than 2 weeks!! I'm still currently most concerned about missing out on Easter eggs - but I think over the next week I'll be thinking more and more about whether my little legs will really carry me up the hills! I am so grateful for all the donations so far and hope that our awesome Cymru family will continue to spread the word and share our page whilst I'm trekking up to Base Camp."

Fundraise

Previous Years

Jaru completed a fundraiser at his school as part of Down Syndrome Awareness Day. He and his classmates raised a whopping £59.05 by selling their home made biscuits and pizzas to staff, parents and classmates.

Thank you Jaru for your generosity and effort, keep up the great surfing too!

Meet Pegleg and John who won our Fundraiser of the year 2018 Award for cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End on a pink quadricycle!

The best friends set off at the end of September to conquer the 1,000 mile cycle, doing around 40-50 miles a day. The feat was an incredible challenge as they battled rain, wind, and cold as they peddled along with three legs and four wheels.

Pegleg said: ‘’It’s about perspective. To many I have less than most, which is what has lead me to having more than most’’

We look forward to seeing and hearing the stories of our amazing fundraisers nominated this year at our #WPAwards19 and are sending big Wave Project hugs to everyone that’s been involved in helping our charity.