The Digital Yacht Foundation is thrilled to support the Cirdan Sailing Trust, as it is a charity with a very unique offering that aligns with what we do as a business.
Who are the Cirdan Sailing Trust and what do they do?
The Cirdan Sailing Trust was established in 1983 and since then has provided around 33,000 young people from across the UK with self-development, integration and learning opportunities through the challenge of life at sea aboard their large sailing vessels.
Why has Digital Yacht Foundation chosen Cirdan Sailing Trust as a charity to support?
The Cirdan Sailing Trust is a very unique charity as it provides children who are suffering from mental health and learning difficulties with the opportunity to talk about their problems outside of a clinical setting. The children express how much easier it is for them to open up when conversations arise naturally and when they’re not pressured into having intense one-on-one conversations. The experience is a kind of ‘adventure therapy’, allowing children to tackle adversity together with the support of psychologists and professional sea staff. It encourages children to leave their houses and inspires them to live their lives outdoors; this sense of fun and adventure, coupled with the peace that people can find at sea, is what we love and encourage more than anything here at Digital Yacht Foundation!
‘The average cost of one night in a psychiatric hospital is around the same cost as a week on Faramir [one of the sailing vessels]’
Why a sailing voyage?
A sailing voyage provides young people with a challenging, alien environment where they have to understand and accept authority, live and work alongside their fellow crew members, learn new skills and of course have fun.
As their voyage of discovery progresses, the young people learn to accept the disciplines and constraints of life on board. Alongside their peers, they face up to the challenges that produce the positive outcomes necessary to underpin success in education and work and help young people to thrive in today’s society; these include confidence, resilience, motivation, tolerance and team spirit.
How you are helping
The Voyage of Discovery Fund scheme subsidises the cost of a voyage to ensure young people, in particular those who face disadvantage in their lives, can participate in and benefit from the challenge of life at sea. The Cirdan Sailing Trust relies on the generosity of grant making trusts and individual supporters and donors like you to operate the scheme.
Please watch the below link to listen to the experiences of the children you are supporting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtpaZeh_bdE
Please visit the Latest News section of The Digital Yacht Foundation to find out more about who we are supporting.