Hope for the Young’s #BuildingBridges Challenge!

We want to say thank you to everybody who participated in our #BuildingBridges fundraising challenge this year!
Based on the huge number of challenges young refugees face when arriving in the UK, this November we set ourselves an ambitious target to cross 500 bridges during the month to try and raise £10,000 towards our work.
From language barriers, mental health needs, and a lack of confidence, to financial obstacles, isolation, and limited access to education, each bridge we crossed represented a significant obstacle preventing the young people we work with from moving forwards with their lives, achieving their aspirations, and reaching their true potential.
With thanks to over 30 participants and 350 supporters, we are delighted to announce that we have hit our target and collectively crossed 512 bridges and raised a whopping £10,232!
How did we do it?!
From our friend, Sunil, crossing 88 bridges on his bicycle, and our Mentoring Coordinator, Ellie and her friend Ecky, walking 50km and crossing 30 bridges in 1 day, to our CEO, Matt, swimming 1 mile in the freezing waters of Lake District, this past month has been filled with sore feet, cold weather, but most importantly – lots of bridges and fun!
On Saturday 27th November, over 30 of us also wrapped up warm and completed the famous Thames Bridge Trek. Together with our trustees, staff, mentors, mentees, grant recipients, and our wonderful friends, we walked 20km and crossed 16 historic bridges along the River Thames whilst chatting, getting to know one another, and laughing along the way. As one of our Grantees wrote:
I really enjoyed spending time with everyone, it was my first time walking around Central London and I finally got to see London Eye in person! It was quite challenging as I was not expecting the weather to be changing dramatically, it was extremely cold and windy to the point where I could not stop shivering. It warmed my heart seeing everyone supporting and motivating each other, we held on and persevered until the very end. Apart from being very proud of myself for completing this challenge, I am grateful to be given a chance to be a part of this great cause that aims to raise awareness on the challenges people like me face on a daily basis. I would gladly do it all over again. Hope for the Young Grantee

Thank you!
We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received over the past month.
Through the achy legs and rain, we’ve had so much fun hearing about everybody’s challenges with the knowledge that every bridge people crossed was bringing Hope for the Young one step closer to being able to work with more young people in the year to come.
We have big ambitions for the new year to increase our support through our Mentoring Project and Grants and Advocacy Programme. We want to thank everybody who took part, donated, or simply wished us well during this past month as every penny raised will be spent directly towards this work.
The generosity we’ve received and the dedication of our fundraisers will ensure that young people arriving in the UK will be given the opportunity they deserve to access education and the tailored one-to-one support they need to settle in the UK.
Matt Blacker