Venture Out announce exiting new partnership with Wilderness Ireland
Galway, November 18th, 2024:
Venture Out are pleased to announce a new and exciting corporate partnership with Wilderness Ireland. Known for their exceptional small-group guided hiking and cycling trips, Wilderness Ireland will now join forces with Galway based registered charity, Venture Out Wilderness Project CLG, helping increase the impact they make on the lives of those most in need.
In 2025, Wilderness Ireland will fund one of Venture Out’s ‘Ember’ Wilderness-Based Personal Development Programmes. This project has been created to engage a group of individuals from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds experiencing a range of adversity and challenge in their lives.
Venture Out’s Ember programme immerses participants in the wilds of Connemara during a five-day hiking and camping expedition, while engaging them in an intensive personal development process. Against the backdrop of some of the island’s most majestic landscapes, each therapeutic outdoor experience promotes social and emotional skills, self-awareness, and reflection, while also building self-confidence and resilience. Venture Out’s Wilderness Expeditions are designed to build on participants’ existing strengths while also addressing the diverse individual needs of those involved.
Commenting on the Partnership, Venture Out’s Programme Manager, Barry Dillon stated “We are delighted to partner with Wilderness Ireland on this exciting project. With their generous funding, we will now be able to support a significant number of participants through our innovative, outdoor-based personal development programme.”
He continues, “These interventions have helped so many people turn their lives around and with the support of Wilderness Ireland, we look forward to supporting many more. This new partnership reflects our shared commitment to supporting those most in need, while also highlighting the important role nature and physical outdoor activities play in the health and wellbeing of those we engage. This collaboration demonstrates Wilderness Ireland’s ongoing commitment to positively contributing to society while giving back to those most in need, and we look forward to working with them into the future.”
Darragh Devaney, head of operations at Wilderness Ireland added, “I’m delighted that we have reached this milestone in our sustainability journey. There is a lot of work still to be done, but it is rewarding to have measured and formalised our efforts and made concrete plans for a sustainable future at Wilderness.”
Founded in 2014 in Co. Sligo, tour operator Wilderness Ireland operates alongside brands Wilderness Scotland and Wilderness England to create innovative and unique small-group nature-based trips that bring visitors to Ireland’s wild and lesser-known regions.
Venture Out have been working within the greater Galway and Connaught region for almost 10 years, supporting approximately 750 individuals per year through their innovative range of outdoor and adventure based social care support services. These include a 1-2-1 adventure therapy service, a range of health and wellbeing programmes for schools and youth groups, and weekly outdoor personal development programmes supporting those in recovery, addiction, homelessness and for people experiencing a range of mental health related challenges.