By Jenny Paterson, Venture Trust Chief Executive
As the nights draw in and the year begins to close, many of us take time to reflect on where we’ve been and who has walked alongside us. At Venture Trust, this season is a reminder of something powerful: change is always possible when people feel supported, equipped, and believed in.
This December, I’m delighted to launch our Venture Trust Advent(ure) Calendar — a 24-day journey of giving that invites our supporters to help us bring the power of the outdoors to even more people who’ve experienced trauma, across Scotland.
Every day between 1–24 December across our social media channels, we’ll reveal a vital piece of outdoor kit and a donation suggestion – from warm socks and waterproof jackets to sleeping bags and headtorches, each item represents far more than equipment — it represents opportunity. With the right kit, our participants can safely and confidently take part in our outdoor personal development programmes that stretch comfort zones, encourage reflection, and build skills that last a lifetime.
Your help will ensure that no one is excluded from a life-changing experience in Scotland’s great outdoors because they lack the practical essentials.
At Venture Trust, we believe wholeheartedly in the transformative power of the outdoors. On a hillside, by a loch, or beneath a wide Scottish sky, our participants discover something many of them have been told to doubt: their own strength. Our programmes help participants build confidence, resilience, communication skills, and trust in themselves — stepping away from the pressures of everyday life to focus on who they are, and who they want to become.
We see these changes every day. A young person finding their voice. A woman rebuilding confidence after trauma. Someone involved in the justice system taking their first steps away from past choices and towards a more hopeful future. These moments matter. They remind us that meaningful change rarely happens overnight — it happens step by step, with the right support and opportunity.
And that’s why this Christmas, I’m asking you to join us on our Advent(ure)!
Give more than a present. Give the gift of adventure.
Your contribution — no matter the size — will help ensure that everyone who comes to Venture Trust can take part fully and safely in our outdoor programmes. Our ambition is to be able to gift participants with pieces of kit after they have completed a programme, so they can continue to access Scotland’s wild spaces on their ongoing journeys of personal development – and we can only do this with your help.
Make sure you follow and like our social media pages across Instagram, Facebook, Linked In and Tik Tok to check out our Advent(ure) Calendar daily reveals, and please feel free to help us spread the word about our Christmas appeal by liking and sharing our posts and using our campaign hashtag – #ADVENTuretrust
If you would like to donate something now, just visit our Donate Page.
Thank you for believing in the people we support, and for helping us create brighter futures.
