Make your donation go further!

Every penny counts as far as Camp&Trek is concerned so please act now to help us make the most of the Gift Aid Scheme.

Through the scheme - once you have agreed - we can claim back an extra 25 pence from Her Majesty's Customs & Excise for every £1 that you give. However, if you don't sign up to the Gift Aid Scheme the we cannot take advantage of the opportunity.

So if you are paying Income Tax/or Capital Gains Tax and are planning on supporting Camp&Trek then – simply by filling out the form on our "Donations" page and marking the Gift Aid declaration - we can claim the extra cash back from the Inland Revenue.

In addition, if a donor is a higher rate taxpayer, they too can benefit from tax relief as they can claim back the difference between the higher rate of tax at 40 per cent and the basic rate of tax at 20 per cent on the full value of the donation – a total of 20 per cent. So if £1 was donated, the gross donation would be £1.25, so the donor could claim 25 pence back.

Last year the money we were able to claim back allowed young people to join us who might not otherwise have been able to do so.

In fact if you spare a few pments filling out the form just once then we can continue to claim Gift Aid as long as you make a donation to Camp&Trek. The only time you would need to notify us is if you no longer pay an amount of Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax equal to the tax we reclaim – i.e. 25p for every £1 you give.

So if you want to support us - and make every penny count - then please make a donation now and fill out the Gift Aid form. Just click on the link below and help us to help young people make the most of their lives.

Donation Form

So what did they think about it?

After every course we hold we ask those who attended to let us know - warts and all - what they thought about their experience. Over the last decade that feedback has helped us to significantly improve the Camp&Trek experience and continues to play an important part in how our annual programme runs.

Once again we have asked group leaders and the young people themselves to let us know their experiences and so here are some of the thoughts they shared with us.

We asked the group leaders "What benefits do you think this course offered young carers?" Here is what they had to say.

I think the course offered a made to measure programme, the instructors allowed the group to have a say in what was happening. This gave them a sense of ownership on their break. The course offered them a much needed break from, what is for them, a very stressful home life.

Doing things they may never get the chance to do with their parents in their lives. New experience and getting new friends and experiences.

A chance to meet others in a similar situation, freedom and away from pressures. It was great to build confidence, a couple of young carers realised they could be instructors and looked at career options.

Ability to experience activities that will broaden their horizons and challenge themselves in a way that will help them deal with the challenges they face in their everyday lives.

It has allowed them to partake in activities which they would not normally get to. They have had an opportunity to make new friends and meet new people.

New experiences, the ability to push themselves, friendships, meeting new people, different surroundings.

The chance to be themselves and try new things. I think they have all gained more confidence and tolerance towards each other. I think they have all had a break from their caring roles which will be good for them.

Opportunity to spend quality time with their peers, try out new activities, experience things other young people their age enjoy. Challenge themselves in a safe, supportive environment.

The young carers have had a chance to make new friends and it has helped them realise that they are not the only young carers. A quote “We are now adults going to the adult group and this has helped give me confidence to do this.”

A chance to get away from normal and sometimes stressful situations. Opportunity to meet other young people and make new friendships. A chance for a real holiday where they feel safe, welcome and appreciated in a beautiful setting. A chance to try new activities, learn skills and increase confidence.

Then we asked "What was your impression of staff at the centres"? Here are a few of their comments

Very easy going and friendly with a good rapport with young people. Good at engaging those who are scared/reluctant.

Friendly. Good at getting the kids to listen and respond and making them feel comfortable enough to give new things a try.

Very positive – all the staff worked well with the kids and adjusted the activities accordingly.

Staff were very welcoming, interact well with kids, were very flexible with tasks in terms of abilities and ages etc. Good fun!

Fantastic, enthusiastic, friendly.

Very good, all staff were very helpful and engaged with the young carers which helped to make the experience an enjoyable one. The staff also made any changes needed without any fuss.

Very attentive, friendly and relaxed which was very well balanced.

Friendly, knowledgeable, patient and catered for all abilities.

Supportive of young people. Friendly. Knowledgeable of the various activities they were leading.

We wondered which activities or sessions worked well with the groups. They said:

All of them, they learned things doing things they have never done and may never do again.

As a leader I felt that all activities worked well and offered opportunities for the young carers to build on previous skills and learn new ones. Excellent programme and well run.

Coasteering, kayaking, sailing, nature project, exploring Island, archery, crating and climbing. Games and bonfire and pier jump were good. The quiz was a bit like pulling teeth!

All of them. Evenings were good to do activities to round off the day.

All activities worked well and challenged different individuals in the group.

I think all the activities worked well – coasteering was quite difficult for the younger girls but instructors take this into consideration – very flexible.

All the activities worked to make the young carers interact with each other.

I think all activities were successful. Rock climbing, coasteering, kayaking, shelter building were probably most popular and most talked about.

And finally: "Do you have any other comments you would like to make?"

Great instructors, would be keen to use them again as they showed great understanding of young carer issues. They offered safe and well run activities which allowed the young carers to either push themselves or just have fun. 100% satisfaction. Also great support from C&T staff as always! Nice new kit much appreciated. Many thanks without you we couldn’t do this kind of respite.

Overall very impressive. The group has really gelled and everyone got on very well and met new friends. I have known my group for 5 years but seen sides of them I never expected to ie.vunerability which seemed to turn into confidence and hope for the future. This centre set the stage for this to happen in a very subtle but effective way.

Had an ace time and would love to come back again and will tell all about it when we get home. Wish we could stay longer, had lots of fun and love doing new things and finding out lots about the Island. Really good experience and had ace fun. Thank you so much.

I realise that this opportunity was subsidised heavily by Camp and Trek and this influenced the catering options etc. I really appreciated the chance to offer this opportunity to the 8 young carers that came even if at times they appeared not to appreciate it or even enjoy it. It was hard work dealing with the ups and downs of their emotions but it felt worth it and gave the opportunity to explore various issues/behaviours/habits/fears and perhaps help to change them in positive way.

We had a fabulous time and would highly recommend the centre to adult and young persons groups. The staff were friendly and accommodating and really helpful. They made everyone feel welcome and comfortable with the activities they were undertaking. Five star on staff professionalism and humour and activities.

Think the team idea is good and timetable is full for the day and evening activities work really well.

Everyone had a great week. Thank you very much

Excellent break in a fantastic setting.

I think all the groups got on brilliantly and so helped each other to get more from the experience.

However, no feed back exercise would be complete without hearing from the young people themselves. Taking a deep breath we asked "Is there anything you think we should change?" Here's what they had to say:

The time to get up like 10 or 9.30

No!

Food and I think the older ones should get to stay up a little longer.

Introduction of all the groups on arrival to make getting to know each other easier.

No, not really

Stay for longer!

No it was awesome

More coasteering

Then finally we asked: "Do you have any other comments?" As always the replies were short and to the point!

Greatest experience ever.

Loved it here love to come back again

It was a great week. I wish we could stay for longer.

No.

That was fun.

It was a once in a lifetime experience. I achieved a lot more than I expected. I met some great people and the staff were very confidence building. All the meals were amazing. Thank you

It was amazing.

I had so much fun. Thank you.

BRILLIANT (maybe heat up the sea)

did you know?

Through C&T's involvement with the John Muir Discovery Award hundreds of young people , from very many different backgrounds and circumstances, have had the chance to not only discover a wild place but, to explore it, do their bit to conserve it and share the experience with others.

For more information about the John Muir Award you can visit their website at www.johnmuiraward.org