Pizza And Surf With The Wave Project, Yes Please!!

I recently had a chat with Katie Smith from the Wave Project who’s based at The Generator’s Quay House office. It was great to find out more about the charity and all the fabulous work they’re doing. I originally spoke to Katie so that we could share with our community the amazing work the charity is doing but I loved the concept so much that I’ve decided to get involved.

If you haven’t heard of the Wave Project before, they’re a charity that was set up to help young people reduce anxiety and improve confidence through surfing. They organize and run surf courses which help the children feel calmer, more motivated and better about their futures.

Check out this video, it shows exactly what they all get up to during their surf camps. It was made by one of the volunteers too, how cool!

I had the pleasure of joining the lovely volunteers at The Wave Project for a social pizza evening last week. We met the group at the Pizza Cafe in Newton Abbot, it was great to meet such a wonderful bunch of people who love to surf and want to give something back. (The pizza was tasty too!!)

There was a range of ages and everyone had something new to say about the project and why they started volunteering. I spoke with a few guys who are uni students at Exeter uni and found the charity through their surfing society. They explained how volunteering for the wave project gives them an opportunity to help children in an environment that they love. It gives them the opportunity to get in the water surfing with friends and offer their skills as well as attending all the exciting fundraising activities.

I also got chatting to someone who works for the charity Mind, a mental health charity, and decided to start volunteering for The Wave Project when she found out their concept and values. She said the best bit is seeing the children's faces when they catch a ‘rad wave’. I just thought ‘wow, I can’t wait to be a part of this!’

The project are going to be attending some festivals this year to spread the word and some of the volunteers and friends of the charity are running the Bideford half marathon too. What an achievement that will be! (Unfortunately I don’t think 2 months training will be enough to see me through to the finish line this time). If you fancy joining them, are able to do a bit of fundraising yourself or just want to find out more then check out their website here.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated with what the project gets up to over the year and how I am able to get involved. Thanks for reading!