We Applied for an Adventure… and Got One!

You know when you stumble across something online and just have to follow it up? That was me, scrolling through LinkedIn a few months back, when a post caught my eye. Some photos of people dressed in outdoor gear with an amazing view behind them – of course I stopped scrolling. Then I read what it was about – “Victoria was one of the winners of the #AdventureMindGrant last year. She used the money to take her kids on a couple of local adventures…” I was tuned in – there are grants for parents to take their children on adventures? Now where was the sign up button?

With just a week until the closing date, I found the application and applied, hoping to secure some grant funds for our plans to walk or bike at least one National Park in each Country this year…

Now I’ll be honest – I knew it was a long shot. There are so many brilliant, and far more deserving applications out there, but I added my blog site to the application form (if only to prove our dedication to the great outdoors) and clicked submit… Hey, you’ve got to be in it to win it, right?

We Didn’t Win the Grant… But We Got Something Even Cooler

Fast-forward to early May and the email arrived. The title is probably a spoiler alert 😉. No grant this time… but… they loved our blog so much that they sent us a £100 Go Ape voucher – courtesy of Go Ape, one of their amazing sponsors!

WHAT?!

This was huge for us. I always knew my boys would love Go Ape but, being totally honest, it’s just not been something within our family budget. I hadn’t even told the boys the place existed, to avoid the inevitable “Can we go, pleeeeease?” requests.

So when I casually told them, “We’ve got a voucher to go to Go Ape,” they looked at me like I was speaking another language.
“Erm… what even is that?”
I told them to Google it. Their faces said it all:
“WAIT… we can actually DO THIS?!”

Yes. Yes, we can!

What is Adventure Mind?

Adventure Mind is a small but mighty initiative that helps people unlock the power of outdoor adventure. Whether you’re hiking, biking, canoeing or conquering your fear of heights in a harness, Adventure Mind believes these experiences build resilience, confidence, and community. (And I couldn’t agree more!)

They offer grants to individuals, families, or teams to complete an adventure that’s appropriate to their experience level, all with the aim of promoting self-development and wellbeing. You can find out more about them (and how to apply!) at: https://www.adventuremind.org/

I’m excited to see if any of my regular readers bookmark the site for next year’s applications – let me know if you plan to apply, I’ll keep everything crossed for you!

Final Thoughts

We may not have won the full adventure grant, but the fact that Adventure Mind took the time to read our blog and send something our way? That’s pretty incredible! It’s a great reminder that sharing your story and putting yourself out there can open unexpected doors.

Big thanks to Adventure Mind and Go Ape for giving our boys an adventure they’ll never forget. Stay tuned for our treetop tale coming soon! 🤩