Bowles – the young people’s outdoor charity
2014 was a momentous year for Bowles Rocks.
The charity commemorated its 50th anniversary with a wide range of celebrations. Staff, volunteers and a whole range of people connected with the centre took part in an array of fundraising and profile-raising activities. People skied the height of Everest, swam the River Dart, cycled the South Downs, kayaked 50 rapids and ran marathons to raise money for the Bowles bursary fund.
In May we hosted the first Kent Young Carers Festival, linking young people who often don’t get the chance to socialise and make friends and just behave like kids and teenagers away from the pressures and responsibilities of their home lives.
In June we held the Summer Festival and hundreds of people came to Bowles to try their hand at the many activities we run here every day – rock climbing, ropes courses, archery, bushcraft, kayaking and lots more.
In July, Bowles Patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh came to visit and help us celebrate this milestone. The Duke has been a supporter of Bowles for a long time and has visited a number of times over the years.
The fundraising events raised £20,000 for the Bowles bursary fund to allow all young people to take part in adventurous activities, regardless of disability or disadvantage.
In 2014 have worked with more than 18,000 people, including 1,900 young people with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
As a charity Bowles receives no statutory funding, so we fund our work with children and young adults by providing courses for the public.
Our winter season is for people who want to learn to ski and snowboard or practice before a holiday. We run a range of courses, sessions, parties and lessons for people of all ages and abilities.
In all of the school holidays we run seasonal activity days and courses for kids aged 8 to 15 – in the winter these tend to be snow sports and in the summer cover the full range of sports and activities we run using our sandstone crag, fleet of kayaks and canoes, three ropes courses, archery range and indoor pool.
We also run birthday parties and experiences for hundreds of kids every year from five years-old upwards – sledging, climbing, skiing and ropes courses are always popular.
For more information visit www.bowles.ac
Bowles Outdoor Centre
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