Mission Accomplished

Just a last update from me before I leave you in peace. (Don't miss the video at the end).

Earlier in the week we made our fundraising target of £20k and even went a bit beyond. When we add the Gift Aid in it will be close to £23k. That's enough to support five (and a half) young people for a whole 12 months after they leave prison! That is quite something. And with a SIGNIFICANTLY better chance of them not reoffending, and potentially going back to prison than if they didn't have an In2Out mentor, that's an amazing 'return on investment' or 'bang for your buck'...or just common sense. Why wouldn't we want to help young people that have often had really difficult starts in life to have another chance to turn things around and to become the best versions of themselves, for their friends and families and ultimately our communities?

In the week since we got home from the challenge I have been reflecting on how it went, what it took out of us as individuals and as a team, and what I've learned. I have to be honest, it didn't go exactly as I had envisioned it. I was hoping for great weather, dry under foot, a beautiful hike in the sunshine with a cooling breeze, great views and great photo opportunities to remember the moments of triumph, a stary nightime hike followed by a fantastic sun rise over Snowdon. Instead, for the most part it was cool to downright cold, zero visibility, high winds and pouring with rain most of the time, plus there a distinct lack of sleep.

It was really hard work at times and that wasn't just the distances and elevation, but it was fighting the elements. The brief moments of triumph on the summits were tempered by the overwhelming desire just to get off the top and off mountain as quickly as possible - not just for the sake of the challenge, but because we just didn't want to stay there! Between us all there were quite a few falls, some injuries and a fair bit of pain, and a good part of the time we were wet! All of that combined is just energy sapping. All we wanted was to get out of the rain, change into something dry, eat, and get into a warm car as soon as possible - admittedly knowing there was another mountain coming, but realising with some thankfulness that was still a few hours away.

I couldn't have drawn the parallels with the 'mountains' our young people are faced with any better if I'd tried, and perhaps we would have missed something in our team experience if we had had the perfect conditions I'd been hoping for. Life, and especially the lives of our young people, is for the most part not like that. Very often the mountains that they face are also rain-drenched and cold with really limited visibility. Sometimes it's not clear when they have reached the top and even when this is realised, the need to start the difficult descent and the anticipation/anxiety of what the next mountain will be like hangs over them like wet fog. There are rarely any fanfares or medals for them - it's just on to the next mountain and that is exhausting. You are more likely to just want to lie down and give up, rather that do that all again...UNLESS you have a team around you to remind you what you are doing and why, how far you've come and what you have already overcome, to tell you, 'you have what it takes' and that we 'believe in you' to keep going and face the next challenge and the next, however many there may be. And there are usually a lot.

We had a great team that encouraged and waited and pushed and fed and drove. A team that we knew was a bit in front or a bit behind - but close by, and others waiting at the bottom to pick up the pieces, help restore us and get us ready for what was next.

None of us are very good at doing life on our own. Why should these young people be any different? They need people like us, and you.

Before the rain...

Thanks again to all of you for your support and encouragement - emotional, practical and financial - in helping us complete the challenge and smash through our financial target. I'm constantly amazed by people's generosity. Everything was worth it for that - knowing what that will mean for those young people who will get the support they need.

If you would like to continue to follow the journey of In2Out alongside our young people then if you haven't already done so, please sign up for our regular comms at https://www.in2out.org.uk/stay-in-touch

And if you would like to be part of supporting our work on a more regular basis then please do consider becoming a monthly donor. The monthly gifts of our supporters really are the bedrock of our financial support that means we are able to walk alongside our young people on whatever mountain they find themselves on - week by week, month by month. https://www.in2out.org.uk/donate

And as a final sign-off...press play.