Outfit Moray | Charity of the Year Request

Hopefully you will remember hearing all about our work at the recent Moray Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, which we were hugely grateful to have been chosen for as the recipient charity. All the funds raised during the dinner will be put towards our minibus crowdfunder, to replace of our aging buses, so thank you for your support.

However, in these challenging times, fundraising continues to be a huge challenge for us, particularly the ‘unrestricted’ community fundraising, which is vital in keeping our doors open, so we are reaching out to see if you would consider choosing Outfit Moray as your charity for the year for 2024.

Hank Rosso said: “Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching people the joy of giving” and having a company fundraising objective helps create a fantastic team spirit, with colleagues enjoying the challenge and forging inter-departmental connections, as they work together to achieve a common goal and choosing us as your ‘Charity of the Year’ will help your company stand out as a community-spirited, philanthropic, ethical business with a passion for supporting young people in Moray.

Just in case you weren’t at the dinner, please allow me to tell you a little more about us. Since 2003, we have run tailored programmes of outdoor learning and adventure for schools, youth groups, families and communities, across Moray. We currently work with over 10,000 young people a year, across all our departments, to actively develop their full potential, through engagement in outdoor learning and adventure. The core of our work focuses on providing opportunities and support for young people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. These young people often have low self-esteem or difficulty integrating with others and may struggle with formal education. Our activities give them the opportunity to engage and succeed in outdoor learning, which helps build their self-esteem and confidence, often enabling them to re-engage with classroom learning, improving their future life prospects. We also provide wider opportunities for all young people through affordable activities during school holidays, weekends etc.

As you will be aware, there is no other organisation in Moray that offers this type of opportunity to local young people, families and communities, which makes us a vital means of support, and we are committed to introducing young people to the health and well-being benefits of outdoor learning and adventure, using the local breath-taking environment as their classroom and playground. With activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, weaselling, gorge walking, crate climbing, archery, bushcraft, Tyrolean and white water rafting, we are able to offer a variety of different opportunities for all young people.

Our impact is probably best summed up by one of our charity partner, Speyside Youth, who had this to say; "You never quite know what will happen on an Outfit Moray activity day. You do know however that a day with Outfit Moray takes you to new places - whether it's Tomintoul gorge walking in the rain, jumping off the cliffs at sunny Portnockie, skiing the Lecht, or rafting down the River Spey - it's always good to get out with Outfit Moray. With every trip we always come home surprised at what a difference a day can make. Horizons are widened, confidence is boosted, relationships are deepened and there is a renewed sense that we can do far more than we imagined. Speyside Youth have seen the benefits year after year that Outfit Moray activity days offer and we see these days providing positive mental health and wellbeing in action".

More companies are choosing a fundraising partnership with local charities, which provides more of an opportunity for a deeper relationship than ad hoc support, and we would love the opportunity to develop a connection with you which could have a long-lasting impact on us both. We would be delighted to meet with you and talk further about any potential support, and would also be more than happy to come a give a short presentation on our work to your colleagues.

For your information, we can also deliver on-site first aid training courses, which we provide to bring in funds to support our work, as well as team building and corporate day activities, so even if you aren’t able to choose us as your charity of the year, you can still support our work with young people in Moray.

Thank you for your time, I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Very kind regards,

Karen Cox

Admin & Fundraiser (Community and Corporate)

Outfit Moray, Shore Street, Lossiemouth, Moray, IV31 6PB

T: 01343 549 571 | W: www.outfitmoray.com/twenty-years