The Hargreaves Foundation supports The Wave Project

The Trustees of The Hargreaves Foundation are pleased to announce funding for The Wave Project, Bristol, a charity improving young people’s mental health and wellbeing through the power of surf therapy.

Operating out of The Wave since 2019, the Bristol project provide surf therapy interventions, consisting of six-week courses where children work one-to-one with trained volunteer ‘surf mentors’ who help build confidence and overcome anxiety.

With 15% of Bristol’s population living in the 10% most deprived areas in England, the Bristol project is aiming to reach young people struggling with their mental health who are from low socioeconomic households.

As a result of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, demand for mental health support has drastically increased, posing a challenge for the Bristol project. In order to meet their objective of offering surf therapy courses to up to 40 young people each year, and to support an additional 20 young people, the Bristol project is seeking funding from the Hargreaves Foundation. This funding will also enable the Bristol project to increase the number of surf club sessions to 335 contact hours.

Following completion of the course, young people experience improvements in various developmental areas, including an average 15% increase in confidence, 12% increase in resilience, and 10% improvement in friendships. These statistics are based on results of a self-evaluation survey completed prior to and after the course.

The mother of one beneficiary of the surf club said her child ‘now actively makes plans with various groups of friends, looks forward to going out …[their] confidence, resilience and realisation that people do accept him has changed all of our lives.’

With the Wave Project being solely reliant upon the generosity of its supporters, the Hargreaves Foundation donation reflects their mission to transform young lives through sport and education.