Surf Therapy for Scotland’s Frontline Heroes!

by Blue Lighthouse Surf CIC in Buckie, , United Kingdom

Surf Therapy for Scotland’s Frontline Heroes!

Total raised £1,140

raised so far

32

supporters

A learn-to-surf wellbeing programme supporting Scotland's Frontline Workers—NHS, Social Workers, Teachers, Emergency Services, & Military.

by Blue Lighthouse Surf CIC in Buckie, , United Kingdom

We're still collecting donations

On the 31st October 2024 we'd raised £1,140 with 32 supporters in 26 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

Hi, we are Adam (a former police officer and surf school owner), Jonathan (a current serving police officer and wellbeing co-ordinator), Claire (an A&E nurse and surf instructor), and Maisie (a qualified teacher and paddleboard instructor).

Thank you for visiting our Crowdfunder page. Please read on to find out a little more about The Blue Lighthouse Project and how we aim to make a positive impact to health & wellbeing in our communities.

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What is Blue Lighthouse?

Blue Lighthouse is a project inspired by surf-based interventions across the world like the Surfwell project in Cornwall & Devon working with the Police and Operation Surf in California working with military veterans, to name just a couple.

There is a huge and growing evidence-base for these type of interventions and it's easy to see why:

  • Time spent in blue spaces
  • Cold water immersion
  • Mindfulness
  • Overcoming challenges
  • Peer support 

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While it might be a little chillier in Scotland, we have great surf and beautiful beaches, as well as thick winter wetsuits to keep us warm! We are also fortunate to have a growing community of organisations delivering surf-based interventions here in Scotland, including Groundswell Scotland and The Wave Project, as well as being the home of the world's first Surf Therapy PhD at Edinburgh Napier.

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Unfortunately, the evidence shows that these types of interventions are very much needed. Here are some statistics on mental health in Scottish public services:

  • 1 in 5 Police Officers suffer from PTSD, 5 times higher than the average
  • Social workers across Scotland miss up to 30000 work days a year because of mental health issues
  • Teachers report significantly higher levels of work-related stress than the average
  • 1 in 4 emergency responders have contemplated taking their own lives due to work stress and poor mental health

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The Blue Lighthouse Project exists to provide tangible support for public sector workers' health & wellbeing, in turn providing a benefit to both the organisations they work for and the wider community which they serve.

Our surf program is an evidence-based intervention that we hope will deliver meaningful results for staff resilience and wellbeing, helping those serving in the public sector to carry out their roles at their best without sacrificing their health.

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The programme will be free-of-charge for all participants, and in order to get the funding we need to deliver the programme sustainably, we need to evidence our positive impact.

Supported by the International Surf Therapy Organisation, we have put together a designed programme plan as well as pre and post program surveys focused on wellbeing and organisational indicators. This will help us to evidence through both quantitative and qualitative data the positive impact on our participants and the public sector organisations they work for.

What we would be spending the money on?

Thanks to a partnership with Cullen's Surf School and generous gifts of equipment from dryrobe and Mystic, we already have all the equipment we need. We are fundraising exclusively to be able to offer funded places for those that would benefit from our programme.

Every single penny raised will be spent providing funded places for public sector workers, including:

  • NHS
  • Emergency Services
  • Teachers
  • Military
  • Social Work

We are planning to run a pilot programme in Cullen, Moray for two groups of 8 public sector workers over 2 sessions. This will allow us to gather the evidence we need to secure future funding and give the programme a sustainable future. We hope in the future to be able to offer this programme at beaches around Scotland.

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We are on a mission to use surfing as a positive driver for the health and wellbeing of those working in the public sector and serving our communities in Scotland.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our project. Please have a browse of our rewards and ways you can support the programme on this Crowdfunder page.

Your kindness and generosity are hugely appreciated, and any and every donation helps to fund additional session places for public sector workers in our community. Thank you for your support.

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£10 or more

Enter our raffle to win a dryrobe!

dryrobe have kindly contributed a voucher for any size long sleeve dryrobe Advance. Enter our raffle to have a chance to win the dryrobe, as well as supporting our project!

£20 or more

dryrobe Cushion Cover (Black/Grey)

Buy a cosy Dryrobe Cushion Cover and support our project. Collected from us in Cullen or delivered to you.

£25 or more

dryrobe Changing Mat (Black/Red)

Buy a Dryrobe changing mat and support our project! Collected from us in Cullen or delivered to you.

£35 or more

Fund a session space for a frontline worker

£35 completely covers a funded space for an NHS worker, emergency services worker, serving or veteran military, social worker, or teacher on one of our sessions. If you know someone who you feel would benefit from one of our sessions - you can also nominate them to take part in our pilot!

£40 or more

dryrobe Organic Towel Robe (Royal Blue)

Get yourself a cosy organic cotton towel dryrobe to keep you warm on and after your outdoor adventures, as well as directly supporting our project. A number of sizes are available. Collected from us in Cullen or delivered to you.

£70 or more

Fund a programme space for a frontline worker

£70 completely covers a funded space for an NHS worker, emergency services worker, serving or veteran military, social worker, or teacher on our pilot 2 session programme. If you know someone who you feel would benefit from our programme - you can also nominate them to take part in our pilot!

£145 or more

Get yourself a cosy dryrobe Advance! (Black/Blue)

Buy a dryrobe Advance to keep you warm on and after your outdoor adventures, as well as directly supporting our project. A number of sizes are available. Collected from us in Cullen or delivered to you.

£300 or more

Corporate Sponsorship

Sponsor our project supporting health & wellbeing in our communities, as well as being recognised as a sponsor in all of our press coverage and marketing material.

Show your support

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