Our biggest year for Moor Boots essential equipment grants to date
This year we awarded the most Moor Boots grants since we began running the scheme. Supporting 76 young people, across 14 teams, we gave out £10,000 of grant money to purchase essential outdoor equipment. This included walking boots, gaiters, waterproof trousers, jackets, sleeping bags, rucksacks and tents. All of these items can be prohibitively expensive to families with tight financial constraints and a lack of basic equipment such of this can be the barrier which stops young people from taking part in Ten Tors or the Jubilee Challenge.
At the DPA, we believe that it’s important that as many young people as possible get to take part in this demanding outdoor challenge. Not only does it promote health and resilience, it also helps build inter-personal skills and shows these groups of young people the magnitude of what they can achieve if they train hard and help each other. Taking on this challenge, trekking between 35 and 55 miles across Dartmoor, also puts the young people involved in a position to build a lifelong, positive relationship with this special landscape. Speaking to a number of Team Managers in the run up to the event, we were told stories of how taking part in Ten Tors had changed their whole perspective, giving them fond memories that inspire them still as an adult, often fueling their desire to volunteer and train todays teams.
Image: Chulmleigh College
Making Ten Tors Accessible for Young People from families with financial constraints
Our Moor Boots small grant giving scheme sets out to make the Ten Tors and Jubilee Challenges as accessible as possible to as many young people as possible. The application process is simple and money can be paid up front to Team Managers, meaning there’s very little delay in getting essential equipment to the young people in need. This year we supported team members from: Dartmoor Plodders, Fowey River Academy, Compass Learning Centre, Southbrook School, Exeter Girlguiding, Launceston College, Ivybridge Community College, Blaise Highschool, Chulmleigh College, Millwater School, Stride Cornwall, Tavistock and District Youth Forum, Bideford College and Sturminster Newton Expedition Group.
Upon application, one Team Manager told us: ‘All our young people would really benefit from good quality rucksacks, fleeces and Boots however anything will put us in a better situation than we have currently are in. They currently make do with basic level older equipment borrowed from the school, or donated to the school or what I can find in charity shops.’
Another shared: ‘The grant will allow our students to access Dartmoor throughout the winter months and the event itself. Equipment of a certain standard comes at a cost, and can be one of the major factors that limits uptake to Ten Tors training. I hope this grant will not only ensure students are able to be on the finish line 2025 with good quality equipment, but also ensure next years cohort are able to access the training without concerns over financial hardship or lack of equipment.’
Image: Launceston College
A lifechanging, resilience-building experience that should be open to all who have the determination to take it on
We were told: ‘Ten Tors is a wonderful opportunity for teenagers but it often comes across as rather elitist – we aim to deliver the experience of training for Ten Tors as inclusively as we sensibly can. As a school serving a deprived catchment in Cornwall, we wouldn’t necessarily expect to participate in Ten Tors – but with huge commitment and effort from a team of volunteers, we are able to enable our young people to take part. We are proud that young children at school now have the aspiration “To do Ten Tors” and everyone is enthusiastic about the positive, life changing benefits that it can bring. One pupil stands one as having said boldly in Year 7 “I want to do Ten Tors” but come Year 9, her Mum told her that she could not, as the family could not afford it. We have discretely ensured that she can participate and are able to loan almost all the gear that is needed (we loan out a lot of gear). A grant from Moor Boots for boots and new socks completes the package. We are hugely grateful.’
It has been a fantastic experience to be on the ground over the weekend and see the teams we have supported complete their challenges and cross the finish line. We have been assisted in supporting more young people than ever before this year by four community sponsors, including Moorland Guides, who have each donated money towards a Moor Boots grant for one young person. We’d like to extend our thanks to all the Team Managers, and other volunteers, who have helped these teams train and be at their best to take on all that Dartmoor had to throw at them. Every young person who trained and took part should be enormously proud of their achievement.
Our CEO, Tom Usher, added this: ‘We are delighted that the DPA’s Moor Boots project have helped so many young people take part in Ten Tors. It is a lifechanging, resilience-building experience that should be open to all who have the determination to take it on. Thank you to all the Team Managers and organisers for a truly impressive weekend, we saw the very best of the South West up there!’