About Us
Our Vision
young people thriving socially, emotionally and academically.
Our Mission
At Basecamp, we inspire, celebrate and challenge young people to discover their self-worth and inner power, readying them for the mountain of life.
Life is full of opportunities and challenges. At the foot of the mountain - at Basecamp - our young people will prepare for that journey.
We create a space that is safe, supportive and inspirational where young people come together, build community and break free from limiting beliefs.
Over the year, they gather the pieces of their kit bag, full of emotional tools, techniques and attitudes to help them navigate the path of life ahead with confidence and enthusiasm.
All quotes are from real Basecamp participants
Our Guiding Values
Child-centred
From our curriculum to our day to day decisions, we are always unfailingly, thinking about what meets the needs of the children best, first and foremost.
Relationally-Led
With our young people, staff, volunteers and partners, we want to make everyone feel seen, heard, valued and part of a meaningful relationship.
Curious
We get curious about challenging situations and always look to the root of the problem.
Open
We are always open to changing our programme, practice and procedures, ensuring we can make things the best they can be for young people and staff.
Ambitious
We pride ourselves on having ambitious 5-year plans and big goals. With the right team, this ambition transforms into a powerful force of ‘making things happen’.
Rigorous
When it comes to governance, evaluation, risk and safety, we are thorough, meticulous and ensure that we are acting within the parameters of the law and best practice at all times.
Our Story So Far
Basecamp was founded in 2021 upon the shared belief that every child has vast potential, strength and possibility, but that so many are unable to access the opportunities and support to discover it.
Spring 2021: The First Step
With our initial idea, we met with Simon Flowers of the Leeds Learning Alliance who brought together a cohort of adventurous and willing young people from Carr Manor Community School and Wetherby High School to help us get our idea off the ground.
September 2021 - June 2023: Testing the Trail
We took 24 young people on a series of adventure trips in the Lake District, jumping off bridges, summitting mountains and abseiling off cliffs. We tested ideas in collaboration with them and learned what it meant to serve the young people of Leeds in a way that genuinely supported them.
Summer 2023: From Pilot to programme
After two years of ups, downs, laughs and lessons we created our ‘Pilot Programme Impact Report’, reviewing the programme and consolidating our learning into a Theory of Change. We took these learnings and developed the Pilot Programme into our ‘new-and-improved’ Core Programme.
September 2023: Liftoff!
We launched the Core Programme with 30 young people and hired Basecamp Coaches to implement our coaching model, offering individualised and sustained pastoral support alongside exhilarating adventures.
October 2023: Building BAsecamp
Now with a tried and tested programme, we hired our first full-time staff member to build a fundraising operation to support our work. In our first full year of fundraising we raised almost £200k, showing us that others believed in the value and impact of our work.
January 2024: Doubling Down
With a growing fundraising operation and interest from other schools throughout Leeds, we took the bold leap of faith to grow and launch another cohort of 30 young people, working with four LLA schools to double the number of young people we work with, totalling 60 across the Core Programme.
September 2024: Going Beyond
We stayed committed to learning from and developing the Core Programme, introducing both a Volunteering programme to offer an extra depth of support for young people, and implementing the ‘Outcomes Shooting Star’ to provide us with scientifically verified impact data.
Additionally, having started a journey of self-belief on the Core Programme, young people told us they wanted more opportunities to push themselves further and stay connected to the Basecamp community. To meet this need, we developed the ‘Beyond Programme’, piloting this in collaboration with 16 young people.
September 2025: Finding our stride
We started the school year working with 80 young people across the Core and Beyond Programmes. We built our financial operation to turn over around £250k per year, with a strong, dedicated and passionate team of four HQ staff members, seven Basecamp Coaches and 18 Volunteers.
January 2026: The need for 90
With increasing demand for the programme we made the decision to take on two more schools for the 2026 school year, bringing our total number to six, to facilitate 90 students. With this audacious growth plan, we increased our operational development and fundraising efforts.
Spring 2026: The big leap
To support with our increased aspirations we recruited two more full time staff members as well as additional Adventure Coaches.
We also began development of our Individual giving and events programmes in order to add vital additional revenue streams to the charity.
2027 and beyond…
Now with strong and sustainable operations and programmes which are proven to have an immensely positive impact on young people, our attention now turns to how we can grow sustainably, as more young people from West Yorkshire need our support to thrive. Our three year plans include the goals to:
Support 150-200 young people across multiple, bespoke programmes, including particular at-risk groups.
Grow to work in partnership with up to 8 Schools, alongside other Third Sector partners
Develop our follow-on pathway to create a youth voice team who represent the charity and help guide our future growth
Diversify our fundraising streams to grow our income and meet a likely revenue requirement of £500K - £750K
Grow and develop our Staffing Team and Board of Trustees in line with the demands of a larger organisation.
