A huge thank you to everyone who entered our Christmas Raffle this year. Your generosity and support have helped us raise £26,966 and we couldn’t be more grateful!

We’re especially thrilled to share that, thanks to the funds we raised, we are launching our first ever fully-funded placement in 2026. An incredible milestone made possible by our generous supporters and trust who match funded all Day 1 ticket sales.

Here’s a quick reminder of the incredible prizes we have on offer..

Main Prize

£1,000 towards flights to a destination of your choice*

Your dream escape awaits, you might be the lucky winner who could turn this Christmas into the beginning of a trip of a lifetime.

*Excludes any destination the FCDO advises against all or essential travel.
This prize can cover multiple tickets for one or more travellers. Flights must be booked through Project Trust by 30/09/2026.

Runner-Up Prize

A two-night luxury getaway at the historic Hever Castle
This exclusive prize is reserved for those who entered via our Early Bird link, a perfect chance to unwind in a truly magical setting, once the family home of Anne Boleyn .

With Special Thanks

A huge and heartful thanks goes to the following:

Our Day 1 Match Fund Supporters:

Souter Charitable Trust, The Jeremy Willson Charitable Trust, Ben St Joseph Trust, Robbie Robertson, The Anson Charitable Trust, The Janelaw Trust, The Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust

Our Big Give Pledge Supporters:

Cray Trust, The Alchemy Foundation, Ivor Dunbar

Our Champion Funder:

The Reed Educational Trust Ltd

Want to Become a Regular Supporter of Project Trust?

Your ongoing support helps us continue creating meaningful, life-changing opportunities for young people around the world. If you’d like to make a lasting impact, here are ways to become a regular donor:

• Set up a monthly donation through our website.
• Sponsor a placement, helping ensure more young people can access global volunteering opportunities.
• Encourage workplace giving or payroll giving through your employer.

Every recurring gift—big or small—helps sustain our mission and future placements. Thank you for considering ongoing support.

The post Our Christmas Campaign appeared first on Project Trust.

The COVID pandemic necessitated a significant change to Project’s operating model with Volunteer selection courses being held online. While this was initially anticipated to be a temporary measure it is now clear that this model far better matches the expectations of young people in the 2020s and has been very successful.

As a result, the residential facilities at Ballyhaugh (the Hebridean Centre) are used for only three weeks of the year.   Running costs for the Hebridean Centre are significant, and as a charity, the Board cannot justify retaining property that is costly to maintain and greatly underused. 

Meanwhile, although Volunteer numbers have been slowly rising since COVID, the current situation is not sustainable and there is a need to release funds and replenish reserves in order to secure Project Trust for the long term. As a result, after long and very careful consideration, the Board has concluded that we must sell our remaining properties on Coll.  They will be put on the market in the spring of 2025.

The Board’s aim is to safeguard employment and ensure the charity is ready to face any future challenges.  Over 75% of staff already work remotely and the intention is to move to a 100% virtual staffing model, including those living and working on Coll.

Project Trust is proud of its Scottish heritage and is committed to retaining Volunteer activities in Scotland and, as was the case in Project Trust’s early days, the charity will rent a residential centre in Scotland for training and debriefing.

Since the pandemic, Project Trust’s presence and financial impact on the Isle of Coll have been much reduced.  The sale of underused property has the potential to have a positive impact on the people and economy of the Isle of Coll and we hope that this is the case.

The Isle of Coll will always be central to Project Trust’s history. Generations of Volunteers and staff are deeply grateful to the Coll community for being an integral part of their Project Trust experience. 

Steve Price-Thomas OBE

Chair

Project Trust

The post Statement from the Project Trust Board of Trustees appeared first on Project Trust.

What does it take to build a trusting relationship with a family from a different culture? More than living with them for the best part of a year; but that alone goes a long way. Birthdays, bad days, western favourites and Muslim holidays spent together are the bare minimum of nine months’ shared experiences when you live with a typical Senegalese family. Mine – the Ndiayes – threw in personalities, ages, delicious home cooking and resident sheep: so each day became a chance to get to know each other better.

We – Fionn, my project partner and I – entered this house thankful but guilt-ridden, apologising for our presence from the start. The relationships blossomed when we accepted their kindness and tried to make it up to them in other ways. Weekly joys lay in discovering what they took for granted, them shedding light on our western customs, and a general sense of exchange and valuable company.

One week we had no running water for four days. We shared out what little we had stored, and resolved next time to fill up a few more jerry cans in case of emergency. One evening I was asked what food we ate in the UK. A month or so later, spaghetti bolognese became a regular family meal – prepared by a different handful of helpful family members each time, with fresh baguettes and extra spice served in Senegalese addition. We picked mangoes together, played copious rounds of Uno, and traded Attaya and Kanquiliba (Senegalese tea) for Earl Grey and English Breakfast. Other exchanges included help with homework and lesson plans, naïve questions asked and answered and a great many board games and dances.

Around July, school drawing to a close, Alouine, youngest of the six Ndiaye siblings at fourteen, was having a frustrating argument with some of the rest of the family. He began crying – something I’d never seen this jokey, confident boy let himself do before. Most of the argument was in shouty bursts of Wolof (the mother tongue), so I dared not join in or attempt peace making for fear of misunderstanding. Everyone was very angry: these were high stakes being discussed. It all got too much, and at one point I decided to walk away from the noise to a sofa, guiding Alouine with me. I sat beside him in silence and never found out what that argument was about. I know he’d be too proud to tell me. But I waited with him while the dust settled. Because he’s my brother.

The post Family Matters appeared first on Project Trust.