Torbay Sea Cadets is a disciplined youth organisation open to all young people aged 10-18 years living in Torbay or surrounding areas. We are self-funded and rely entirely on the kind donations/grants of other organisations/individuals and subscription fees from our cadets.

Our cadets and volunteers are valued in the community in which they live and we have received so much loyal support over the years from the people of Torbay and Devon, either through kind gifts or through donations raised by the fundraising efforts of our cadets, committee and staff.

This has allowed us to keep costs to cadet families to a minimum, as many cadets come from backgrounds where money is an ongoing struggle and without our unit, they would not be able to achieve many of the incredible skills and nationally recognised qualifications we have to offer, including BTECs, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, First Aid, boating/waterborne qualifications, catering and engineering to name but a few!

The world is changing in tough ways. And too many young people out there are going into an adult world under-equipped with the resilience, self-belief and social confidence they need to make a decent life for themselves. Sea Cadets has the skills to change this.

We must save our teenagers from getting lost before life has started , but sadly we are limited at Torbay Unit in our capacity for accommodating higher numbers of cadets and volunteers. We are currently operating a waiting list due to the limited space we can offer in our current accommodation. Currently we are regrettably without disabled access, which goes against our ethos of being open and accessible to all. We want to expand it to increase the training we can offer and to be able to support teenagers to live healthy and active lifestyles.Much of our training equipment is either in need of replacement or repair to ensure training remains effective and safe. Our minibus is recently beyond economical repair and we are in desperate need of purchasing new equipment to equip Torbay's teenagers with skills that will help them both now and in the future.

Please help us to reach out to as many of Torbay's young people as possible, by supporting our cause to raise funds for the three following main projects:

- Acquiring bigger, more accessible accommodation with even more facilities (such as a kitchen, sports/recreational games areas, facilities for overnight accommodation and parade hall) to train cadets in skills such as catering, first aid, music, engineering, sports and seamanship.

- Purchasing specialist equipment (resuscitation training manikins for first aid training, ropes, camping gear, uniforms, lifejackets, boats).

- Purchasing a unit minibus to help us transport cadets to events, courses and competitions.

You can literally see the difference Sea Cadets can make to the young people of Torbay - an area described as one of the most deprived in the South West of England. But you can see how our teenagers hold themselves, welcome new people, and support each other. How they listen better in school, aren’t offended by constructive feedback, and get on with teachers. And how composed they are in that precious first job or college or university interview.

Our aim is to guide young people towards responsible adulthood through fun and nautical adventure, opening endless doors which will enhance their future, regardless of background, social or financial status, colour, creed, ability/disability, academic results or career aims.

2 out of 3 cadets say their attendance has improved at school.

94% of cadets say Sea Cadets gives them skills for life.

93% of cadets say we help them gain qualifications.

At Sea Cadets you’ll see teenagers who cycle miles to us because they can’t afford the bus fare, greeting their friend dropped off in a new car, and young people of all races and religions, of all abilities, chatting together, striving together, and cheering each other on.

Many teenagers arrive at Sea Cadets excited at the prospect of all the adventures and activities they can have with us. And they’re brilliant fun. But quickly they see the depth of what they can gain here for their future and they grab it with both hands!

They claim Sea Cadets enables them to be:

- Confident

- Feeling more in charge of themselves

- A leader people want to follow

- Comfortable speaking to anyone

- A brilliant team player

- Skilled, with qualifications to prove it

- With positive habits and thinking

- Adaptable

- Motivated

Sea Cadets also find:

- School gets better

- Getting that job gets easier

- They can overcome challenges more confidently

What Sea Cadets can give young people is desperately needed. One in five teenagers are now shockingly experiencing mental health problems like anxiety and clinical depression. And the widening gap between rich and poor is seeing huge numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds being shut out of opportunities because they cost too much.

Help us to bridge that gap by donating anything you can, however small, to our project to improve the Sea Cadet Experience for Torbay's young people and volunteers.

Thank you.

The Staff and Cadets of Training Ship Torbay.