‘Aching limbs, burning lungs, sore feet…wow what a view’ these were just some of the sensations felt by our team member Alicja Robinson as she took part in the ‘Hike for Llamau’ with Travis Perkins, raising money for the charity and helping it continue the amazing work it does to tackle youth unemployment and homelessness.
Alicja and her group of trekkers hiked the circular 6.5km Pont ar Daf trail which meant ascending Pen-Y-Fan, the highest peak in South Wales, in the awe inspiring Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), although the weather tried its best to spoil the thrill of the accomplishment!
Alicja’s fundraising effort builds on the £25k already provided to Llamau by our frameworks, SEWSCAP (South East and mid Wales Collaborative Construction) and SEWH (South East Wales Highways), ensuring support for the charity’s Wellbeing and Education programmes.
Llamau’s mission is to end youth homelessness and homelessness amongst women in Wales, making it rare, brief, and non-recurrent if and when it does occur. Llamau has developed a range of housing-related, prevention and ‘move on’ services, including a range of ‘Step into…’ programmes designed to support young people and women with experiences of homelessness and abuse to achieve their potential and live independent, purposeful lives. It delivers services across 19 of the 22 local authorities in Wales and in 2020/21 supported over 7,500 young people, women, and children to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.
The SEWSCAP and SEWH frameworks previously funded the ‘Step into Wellbeing’ programme with a core aim of helping young people with complex needs to develop self-belief, feel proud of what they have achieved and confident that they can continue to overcome their identified barriers to education, employment, and training. It is delivered through guided workshops, group discussions and community-based activities, and they work with young people to identify the barriers holding them back and create an individual plan to improve their quality of life.
Our frameworks also supported the ‘Step into Education’ programme which delivers the charity’s Agored Cymru and Essential Skills Wales programmes, awards in Personal and Social Education and Work-Related Education and interactive workshops. The programme focuses on employability and life skills and works closely with Llamau’s partners such as Careers Wales to ensure impartial advice and guidance is provided.
So would Alicja put herself through the physical aspects of the trek and less than kind weather again in aid of the charity?
“It’s a resounding ‘yes’ from me! I absolutely loved it and whilst the trek up Pen-Y-Fan was far from easy, I knew every step was worthwhile as it was supporting the amazing work Llamau does.
“It was also great to see our contractors supporting organisations that provide such an important service to vulnerable people in our community. It was fantastic to join the team from Travis Perkins as they completed the Hike for Llamau.”
Martyn Piper, Account Manager at Travis Perkins Managed Services said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for Cardiff Council and Travis Perkins staff to get together in the fresh air and support such a worthy cause. It was a challenging walk, but we had a lot of fun and found it very rewarding.”
