South Shields Surf charity receives over £100,000 from National Lottery Community Fund

The charity South Shields Surf has received over £100,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund. From surfing to rock pooling, and paddle boarding to snorkelling, South Shields Surf aims to remove barriers to the North East coastline so more local people can enjoy the physical and mental health benefits it brings.

South Shields Surf is one of 250 charities and community groups across the North East and Cumbria to receive a share of more than £13.3 million in National Lottery funding over the past three months. This new project will target a wide range of groups, including partnerships with schools, children and adults with SEND, as well as working with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups and the LGBTQ+ community.

The overarching aim of South Shields Surf is to provide education and safe opportunities to engage with the ocean, and to spread the message that surfing activities are accessible to everyone. South Shields Surf hopes to reach over 11,000 people through their services and outreach work by 2027.

South Shields Surf is looking for volunteers from the community, offering them training opportunities and the chance to learn new skills and develop leadership skills. Adaptive surfing is something that is very popular and successful for South Shields Surf, in terms of engaging with local schools, with boards for all levels of ability and tandem surfboards that are specially adapted and designed for people with complex needs.

Nick Jones, Founder of South Shields Surf CIC said: “Thanks to National Lottery players we can help more people and develop our programmes with our community to get more people into the sea where we know they feel better. This year we have launched projects to increase diversity and encourage ethnic minority groups to join our sessions.

“We have projects to support LGBTQ+ groups who have access to the ocean. We continue to cater for SEN groups (this year we are also expanding to help older children) and for people with disabilities. We have a veterans group and a community surf club to promote regular access and development, which also leads to volunteering and training opportunities.

“These are all community-driven projects, because we support people with life experience to develop and implement these projects. This funding is essential to what we do.”

Duncan Nicholson, head of funding for the North East and Cumbria at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We are proud to be able to support great projects like South Shields Surf. These projects offer people from all walks of life the chance to learn a new skill, connect with the nature around them and live healthier lives.”