Award Made To Bristol ACF
The Jo Walters Trust made an award of £2000 for Bristol Army Cadet Force: Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions.
Bristol Army Cadet Force is a youth organisation working with 12-18 year olds, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds in Bristol. Most of the 150 staff are volunteers, with the majority of its funding coming from the Army.
Adam and Brett are 18 year old brothers from Bristol ACF that are making a life-changing expedition to Nepal as part of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. The ACF asked that part of the donation supports their expedition as they have given a great deal to the ACF over the years and provide excellent role models to other cadets. You can download a copy of their report on the Nepal trip by clicking here
Brett and Adam:
We have done a lot in the 4 years we’ve been in cadets that we wouldn’t have had the chance to do: rock climbing, kayaking, and obstacle courses to name just a few. By far our greatest achievement in Cadets has been reaching the Four Star Army Proficiency Certificate. We have both progressed through the ranks, reaching the army cadet rank of Company Sergeant Major. We have gone through many tough times and challenges, and have gained respect from the adults as well as cadets, but most importantly we’ve learnt to respect ourselves.
Adam: I chose to do DofE because I wanted to challenge myself as much as I can. I wanted to build on my general interest in the outdoors and develop my skills further. I’m a motivated person and like seeing everything through to the finish. Hence I’ve continued to Gold. DofE has helped me take on new challenges and try new things that I wouldn’t have tried before.
Brett: We are looking to get a lot of life experience out of the Nepal trip by being away from home for three weeks, out of our comfort zones. I would like to come out of it a better person. It’s going to be very different to anything we have ever done as it will be a drastic change in life style: different currency, religion and standard of living. As well as the trekking expedition we will help rebuild a primary school in the village where we’re going. We are looking forward to helping people less fortunate than us.
We’ve had to raise £2500 between us, which we achieved through a sponsored hike round Snowdonia, writing to businesses and charities, and a couple of bag packing events in our local supermarket. The kind donation of £500 from the Jo Walters Trust has helped us achieve the target significantly. The money will help us with expenses, in particular: flights, visas, places to stay, inoculations/jabs and food.
Adam: The £1500 going towards equipment for the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions at the ACF will make the challenge of DofE a lot more accessible for others. Although the Army funds the running of the ACF it is unable to supply stores for non-military activities so many cadets don’t join the scheme as they can’t afford the equipment.
Brett: After this our goals are to complete our college education, then study either mechanical or electrical engineering at university, before going to Sandhurst with the goal of becoming officers in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
“I had heard that Gold was the hardest, I thought to myself, I have to try this and see if I can.”
You can download a copy of their report on the Nepal trip by clicking here
