A PIONEERING mental health charity that began life on the beaches of Cornwall has been awarded £100,000 by Comic Relief to continue its life-changing work with children and young people across the UK.

The Wave Project, now the UK’s leading Surf Therapy charity, started as a small pilot project in Cornwall 10 years ago. Today, it supports more than 2,500 children and young people annually, often referred by schools, CAMHS, GPs, social workers and other professionals, through 17 locations across the UK.

The new Comic Relief funding will be delivered over two years and will help cover essential costs, including staff and volunteer training, programme delivery and safeguarding.

Born from the belief that the ocean can heal, The Wave Project offers six-week surf therapy courses, pairing young people facing mental health challenges, trauma, severe anxiety and social isolation with trained volunteer mentors. These sessions are followed by longer-term surf clubs to provide ongoing support and a sense of community.

Ramon Van de Velde, CEO of The Wave Project, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Comic Relief for their generous support. Surf Therapy is an early intervention which does so much to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the children and young people who become our surfers.

“With one in five young people now having a diagnosable mental health challenge it is clear that they need charities like The Wave Project. Our charity creates community, friendships, confidence and resilience. Comic Relief do that all over the world. We do that through surf therapy and the healing powers of the ocean in the UK. Support for core costs is difficult to obtain, so this grant is so welcome!”

Part of the funding will be used across The Wave Project’s Cornish sites, which are located in Bude, Polzeath, Newquay, Gwithian and St Ives. Courses run in spring, summer and the autumn, alongside their surf club which has sessions across the county throughout the year, come rain or shine!

Comic Relief CEO Samir Patel praised the project as a powerful example of sport and nature being used to transform lives, he said: “For over 20 years, Comic Relief’s Sport for Change funded projects have been creating safe spaces for people to build friendships and feel supported.

“With the incredible work they are doing to support children and young people, The Wave Project is a fantastic example of that. We’re delighted to be awarding this funding, especially as Comic Relief marks the return of Sport Relief this summer.

“We know sport has the power to change lives, and Sport Relief is an opportunity to come together to help raise funds for vital projects – just like the Wave Project – who are doing amazing work to support mental health, combat isolation and help build community.”

Although based in Cornwall, the charity has expanded across the South West of England to North Yorkshire, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, Brighton and London, with over 16,500 young people having accessed Surf Therapy courses to date.