PCC visits Oxfordshire Outdoor Youth Centre
On Friday 28 July, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, visited Adventure Plus, a charitable organisation that works to support and inspire young people through outdoor learning.
Based in Clanfield, West Oxfordshire, Adventure Plus provides adventure holidays, school residentials, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, team building and outdoor activities for around 9000 young people a year.
The charity works with children from all backgrounds, within the Thames Valley and across the UK, but has a specific programme – Adventure Impact (AIM) – for children and young people aged 8-21 with chaotic lifestyles, additional needs, or who are at risk of school exclusion or criminal behaviour.
The charity was recently awarded £5000 from the PCC’s Community Fund to support the running of this programme.
Following his visit, Matthew said: “It was a pleasure to meet the Adventure Plus team and learn more about their inspiring work with young people. I was fortunate to visit at the same time as one of their summer camps and got to speak to young people directly about their experiences with Adventure Plus and the impact their work has had on them. I even got to try out some of their exciting activities for myself.
I’m delighted to have been able to support the continuation of their Adventure Impact programme, which works with young people who may be vulnerable to crime, with a £5000 grant. I wish Jon and the team all the best with their future work.”
Jon Cox, Founder Director at Adventure Plus, said: “It was great to meet Matthew and show him the purpose-built youth Adventure Centre we are building. The visit was well timed as we have just completed the first phase – affordable accessible accommodation for up to 100 children and young people. We can now begin to start planning for custom built Adventure Facilities as we create a lake and put in a caving trail, high ropes, zip wire, adventure barn and much more!
It is wonderful to see the encouragement and refreshment that a visit to A+ can bring to hundreds of young people each year. It was also great to bring Matthew up to date on plans to expand our Adventure Impact programme for young people at risk of exclusion from school, and/or delinquent behaviour tendencies, which is the initiative the PCC’s Community Fund was able to support earlier this year.”
