Have you ever arrived at the foot of a route, looked up at the rock face above you and - gulping back fear - doubted that you’d ever make it to the top? No point in turning back now, right?
That's the feeling that makes climbing all the more fulfilling when you succeed, it's also the feeling that Endeavour want young people to experience. We were delighted to be able to support them with their introduction to climbing project, so we caught up with them to find out how it went.
Endeavour is a charity that works with young people aged 13-25 who are missing from education, have learning difficulties, or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The charity runs personal development, educational, and social action projects to help young people develop the skills they need to face problems, tackle obstacles head-on, and succeed where they may previously have failed.
Over a period of 18 weeks, Endeavour delivered introductory climbing sessions to 90 young people, aiming to take them out of their comfort zones so they would feel better equipped to push their personal boundaries. Representative Graham Booth explained why the charity decided on climbing as a suitable activity for young people:
we know from experience that activities such as climbing push personal boundaries so our learners are inspired and challenged to succeed upon reaching the top of a wall there is real sense i did it reached this transfers over life if they when thought didn have chance maybe exam won be bad or worth applying for job.
Young people got a huge boost when they succeeded in climbing, helping them to develop the skills necessary to overcome obstacles beyond the wall.
Staff also saw development in the young people's communicative skills, as the sessions helped to break down barriers and get them interacting with one another and with staff:
Climbing young people are taken out of their comfort zones in terms communicating with others and working teams. key skills brought to the forefront as they asked contribute positively experiences. gaining these helps feel more confident able face problems tackle them head-on.
Endeavour's project gave many young people a chance to give climbing a go, an opportunity that they may not have had otherwise. Graham hopes that these introductory sessions have encouraged the groups to continue practising the sport - we're looking forward to seeing them all at the crag!
The Alpkit Foundation supports projects that enable people to overcome the obstacles preventing them from Going Nice Places and Doing Good Things.
