Venturing Out 'blown away' after community raises £4,000 to replace stolen equipment

The group, which offers outdoor activities to children with additional support needs, was victim to a break-in at Levenhall Links three weeks ago, losing £4,000 of equipment.

With no sightings of the stolen equipment, the community response was described as “overwhelming” as a fundraiser to replace the stolen items reached £4,340.

The fundraiser was set up by Michelle Scott, whose daughter Tilly has additional support needs and relies on Venturing Out to provide inclusive family activities.

She said: “Venturing Out has given us that time together as a family that we so desperately craved – a place to enjoy outdoor activities with no judgement, lots of extra support and bags of encouragement.

READ MORE: £4,000 of equipment stolen from local not-for-profit Venturing Out

“We have seen our daughter’s confidence grow massively since we started doing their watersports, and our 10-year-old son is able to enjoy mainstream activities with all of us instead of having to do them alone, or with just mum or dad.

“Helping Venturing Out raise the funds to replace their stolen equipment was our way of saying thanks. And seeing how quickly all the donations came in is testament to how amazing they are and how much they help so many families like ours.

“I’m really happy that our fundraising efforts have paid off and we have helped to raise awareness of the fantastic service they provide.”

Claire Mackenzie, business development director of Venturing Out CIC, was “blown away” by the support.

She added: “We were shocked and saddened in January to discover the theft of kayaks, paddleboards and paddles. The metal containers that the equipment was housed in had been cut open, with four Red Co stand-up paddleboards, two sit-on-top kayaks and four paddles stolen.

“This equipment is predominately used for sessions with children with additional support needs.

“It is also used for school holiday programme activities and with school groups.

“We’d like to thank every single person that has donated money, offered equipment and other forms of support.

“We have been completely blown away by the support we have received – what an amazing wee county we live in!

“We will be forever grateful.”