Basecamp Adventure Trust
Helping young people discover what they’re made of
Basecamp Adventure Trust believes every young person is capable of more than they think, and sets out to prove it. Working with partner schools in Leeds, it offers Year 8 students who would benefit from sustained support a full year of outdoor adventure, coaching and friendship.
Across the year, young people complete six modules, each pairing a life skills workshop in school with a three-day adventure in the Lake District or Yorkshire Dales. Small groups called huddles stay together all year, led by a trained coach who gets to know each young person well.
Young people finish the programme with greater confidence, resilience and belief in their future, plus friendships that last. Because the support runs for a whole year, they have time to test new strengths again and again, and carry that self-belief back into school, home and whatever comes next.
2025
Year they joined the Raise Your Hands platform
59
Children and Young People supported last year
Why they’re needed
Across Leeds, many young people grow up without the opportunities and experiences that show them what is possible. Without those chances, it is harder to discover their strengths or picture a future beyond what they already know, especially in the early years of secondary school.
Some of the young people Basecamp works with are growing up in poverty, caring for a family member or coping with the loss of a parent. Others are facing difficult circumstances at home. These pressures can leave young people feeling isolated, with a limited view of who they could become.
Year 8 is a moment when a young person’s sense of themselves is still taking shape. Basecamp steps in at this point with consistent adults, new friendships and real challenges, giving young people the chance to see themselves differently before their circumstances start to define them.
How they do it
Basecamp partners with schools across Leeds, whose staff put forward Year 8 students they believe will thrive with extra support. Young people begin with a taster session and a launch day, where they meet their coaches and the rest of the group, often including students from another school. The programme is free for young people.
Each of the six modules has a theme, such as empathy or resilience, introduced in a school workshop. Young people then put it into practice on a three-day residential, staying in youth hostels and taking on activities like caving, gorge scrambling, kayaking, abseiling and hiking some of the UK’s highest peaks.
In huddles of eight to ten, coaches trained in restorative practice and trauma-informed care lead daily reflection, celebrate achievements and offer one-to-one support. After every contact day, Basecamp shares feedback on each young person with their school, so progress made on the hillside carries on in the classroom. Graduates who want to keep going can join the Beyond Programme, and volunteers add more caring adults to the team.
Find out more about Basecamp’s amazing work
Zaina’s Story
When Zaina’s younger sister was diagnosed with cancer at the start of Year 8, her world shifted overnight. Hospital appointments replaced family routines, and Zaina found herself emotionally adrift, trying to be a supportive sister while her parents’ attention was understandably elsewhere.
Then came Basecamp. Every six to eight weeks, it offered something rare: a space where Zaina could simply be a young person, surrounded by peers who understood. Though hesitant to trust others at first, she was pushed out of her comfort zone, discovered her own resilience and formed friendships that became real pillars of support.
Her parents watched her grow. “Basecamp became the stage for Zaina’s growth,” her mother said, “where she cultivated independence and discovered layers of herself we hadn’t seen before.” Zaina came through a painful time in her life with a new sense of courage, and the friends to carry it forward.
Support Basecamp Adventure Trust along with 15 other children’s charities
Basecamp Adventure Trust is one of a portfolio of small UK children’s charities championed by Raise Your Hands. When you donate to us, your gift is shared equally between every charity in the portfolio.
One donation. 16 small charities. 16 ways to change a young life.
