the survival island adventure begins
Eight intrepid employees from our partners Brooks Macdonald are leaving the comfort of their offices this week to take part in ‘Survival Island’, testing their mental, physical and team-work skills on a remote island while also raising funds for Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.
After enjoying a crossing by small boat to Flat Holm Island, over three days the group will learn how to light fires, navigate by compass, track animals as well as fish and prepare the catch for dinner.
Our programmes, which the Brooks Macdonald partnership is providing vital support for, improve young people’s physical and mental wellbeing, help them build healthy relationships and unlock the confidence, self-esteem and resilience needed to overcome challenge and succeed in education, work and life. For our ‘Islanders’ the setting is different, but the skills needed are the same.
Like the Trust’s athlete mentors, who we train to use their unique experience from the world of elite sport to lead our programmes and mentor young people, this survival challenge will be led by ex Royal Marine Commando, John, from Elite Survival Training, who will unlock these skills in the group teaching them the principles of survival and endurance, along with an appreciation of the environment and the earth’s natural resources. After three days John says that ‘you will learn more about yourself and your environment than you ever believed possible.’
With employee wellbeing sitting high on every organisation’s agenda, the trip will also give the participants a chance to bond as a group and work closely together with colleagues, an opportunity which many of us have been missing as businesses have dealt with the effects of the pandemic. Additionally, they will understand more about some of the key skills our athlete mentors help to instil in the young people we work with such as resilience, overcoming adversity and teamwork; and feel a closer connection to the organisation’s chosen charity.
Before setting we off, we spoke to a few of the Brooks Macdonald team heading off to the island.
“I’ve never done anything like this before but once the opportunity came up it seemed like a great chance to challenge myself both physically and mentally with what’s to come on the island. I am excited to take on the challenge and think it will be a great opportunity to get to know my colleagues in a different environment. Being challenged with other members of our team in a non-work setting will hopefully allow me to understand them better; the way they work and function, which we can then take back into a work environment. ”
Paige, before heading off on Survival Island.
“I have always been interested in things like ‘Tough Mudder’ & pushing myself physically and mentally & I have always been a fan of ‘SAS: Who dares Wins’ and ‘The Island’ and said if I ever got the opportunity to do something like that then I would, so when I saw our company were doing this for Dame Kelly Holmes Trust I just had to yes! I am very much looking forward to tackling some challenging situations as a team and coming away with a sense of accomplishment. Overall, I’m just very excited to get stuck in and challenge myself.”
Gareth, who previously walked 100,000 steps in a day for the Trust.
We’ll be catching up Gareth, Paige and the rest of the group once they’re back on dry land next week, but if you’re interested in finding out more about getting your organisation involved on a future Survival Island trip, please drop Pippa a line on fundraising@damekellyholmestrust.org. You can also take a look at some of the other great employee engagement offerings we have such as Drive to Survive, the Starting Blocks Challenge and our Corporate Sports Days here.