Spirit of Fairbridge - Tall Ships Race 2008

As part of our Community Programme we have a fantastic opportunity for 12 Bibby employees to take part in the world famous Tall Ships race in July.

Spirit will be leaving from Liverpool and travelling with all other Tall Ships in the race on 21st July 2008.
First leg - Liverpool to Maloy in Norway (21st July – 2nd August )
Second leg - Maloy to Edinburgh via Bergen (3rd August - 16th August)
For further details about how you can get on board contact the Community Team on 0151 794 1052 or by e-mail community@bibbyline.co.uk

Fairbridge

Fairbridge is a national charity that support young people between the ages of 13-25 who have been excluded from mainstream society through family, drug, alcohol, homelessness and personal problems.

They operate in fifteen of the most urban disadvantaged areas of the UK. Operating a combination of personal development programmes and challenging events to help to integrate young people back into society.

Many of these programmes are operated on board ‘Spirit’ as she sails around the coast of the UK. Thrown together for 24 hours a day with people they have never met, participants discover the advantages of working together as a team as they raise 2,500 square feet of sails, plot the course and steer the boat.

'When we were on Spirit we made team goals and goals for ourselves. I’ve still got that piece of paper up on my wall in my bedroom. Everyone did an action plan before going on Spirit, I had to think about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to improve something about myself. I wanted to see if I could control my temper a bit better. I got bullied a lot, I’d been suspended from school a few times, I was feeling isolated, it used to be really easy to get to me. Now, if I feel I’m about to lose it I can say to people, just give me five minutes by myself.'

Spirit of Fairbridge Participant

Between 2007 and 2012 Bibby Line Group will donate a total of £1million to Fairbridge. This sponsorship will allow long term funding of ‘Spirit’ and the programmes that are operated on board. It also brings with it some exclusive opportunities for Bibby Line Group employees to get involved.

Volunteering with Fairbridge

Employees have the opportunity to volunteer to help out on board ‘Spirit’. The ship sometimes has spare crew capacity when running courses and Fairbridge have agreed that wherever possible we can utilise these crew places for our people to volunteer on board.

This is an intensely rewarding experience and is a great opportunity to do something different whilst helping others.

For dates and availability on any of the above trips, please contact the Community Team on 0151 794 1052 or e-mail community@bibbyline.co.uk