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The Castle is proud to announce a new and exciting partnership with Project One Climbing.
Founded by one of our Receptionist team, Carmen McIlveen, Project One is a not for profit organisation dedicated to the inclusion, increase and support of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people within UK climbing.
About Project One
“It’s hard to find any statistics on the ethnicity of climbers in the UK however, if you ask anyone within the community, they will tell you that BAME people are massively underrepresented. It is visible in our indoor facilities and strikingly obvious when we get outdoors.
There could be many reasons for this, but at Project One, we believe that one of the main problems is financial accessibility. Bearing in mind the amount of BAME households living in poverty in the UK is up to 35.7% compared to 17.2% for white people it’s no wonder that there is considerable difference in who is able to spend money on extracurricular activities and hobbies.
The fact is, climbing is an expensive sport, and understandably so as it can be dangerous.
By providing free and subsidised access, we are confident that we can increase the amount of BAME children that are introduced to climbing and with ongoing support be able to continue enjoying the sport in the long term.”
For more information, visit the Project One website.
What We’re Doing
Through this partnership, the Castle and Project One are working towards a common goal of increasing access to climbing for young BAME people.
Project One has a focus on community outreach and support for young BAME people, offering a variety of services designed to introduce new climbers, support returners and aid their parent/carers in gaining the necessary skills to help continue their climbing journey. The Castle are thrilled to be able to provide the space to do so and look forward to welcoming many new faces into our community and supporting their endeavours.
We hope to collaborate on a broad range of projects in future to expand the scope of this partnership.
How You Can Help
If you’re a climber reading this and you’re excited to hear about the partnership, you can support Project One and help them achieve their goals. Visit the Project One website or follow them on Instagram to keep up to date with future developments or consider donating to support them in their work if you can.
You can contact Project One Founder Carmen on carmen@projectoneclimbing.com
Meet the Team
Carmen is the Founder of Project One. She has been a member of the Reception Team at the Castle for 2 years.
“This has been a dream of mine since before even qualifying as an instructor so I’m incredibly happy to have finally started this organisation. We need more BAME climbers in the UK. This is my way of trying to make it happen.”
Houe has also joined the Project one team! When he’s not instructing our Inclusive Clients, you’ll find him greeting our members on Reception where he’s been working for 3 years.
“I want to be able to help provide equal opportunities for minority groups to access climbing. To be able to access all the amazing aspects of climbing that I was fortunate enough to be able to become a part of.”
For more information, visit the Project One website.