CYM's Basecamp - serious about more than just school trips

What does Basecamp even mean?

For those of you that have tried to come up with names, if you're anything like us, it's really difficult! Finding something that fits the current trends, describes what you are and sounds catchy takes time. We went round and round different ideas, all not quite hitting the mark and a few that Doctor Who must have brought back from 1970s.

To add to the difficulty CYM has hosted multiple programmes over its 40 year history, confusing directions of where we should land. Up until very recently, CYM hosted a similar school's residential programme called African Adventure. Very popular amongst local schools in and around Suffolk we saw 1000s of students enjoy their weeks stay away on the Suffolk coast. In the end African Adventure enjoyed its final school visit in 2019, COVID came, and the time felt right for something new. We wanted to develop something that felt more relevant to the present day and more in keeping with the rest of what CYM is engaged in.

Chaplaincy is a growing area that we now offer to a variety of different educational settings in Ipswich, Suffolk. Being a consist presence in schools for a number of years, we have seen 1000s of young people receive pastoral support in small groups and 1:1s. Chaplains are reacting to the needs of the school, being the voice of positivity and care for students and staff alike. It's become so valuable to schools that they have become indispensable.

In this context, and not forgetting our name search, we haven't mentioned what most people will notice very quickly - that we are a Christian charity. We're not embarrassed to call ourselves Christians by any means and we do endeavour to follow the example of Jesus. When revisiting our charity’s identity, we agreed that even if you do not call yourself a Christian, most of us would agree that Jesus existed and was one of, if not the most, positively influential people in all history. It's what he said around love and compassion, as well as his attitude to all people, that motivates us in what we do.

Back to the original question - why Basecamp? Suffolk is hardly known for being a mountainous place, but the word ‘Basecamp’ spoke deeply to us about its unique identity. To us, Basecamp describes safety, adventure, beauty and rest amongst busyness. For those that visit, we see that we are all about balancing out the structure with moments of simple fun and enjoying each other's company. Like, arriving at a Basecamp on an expedition, sharing stories and experiences, learning more about your environment, ready to go again the next day.

Does Basecamp have a particular purpose?

We were keen to look back at what went well and what could be learnt from the past as Basecamp began to take shape. Basecamp has started at a time where many of us are navigating unprecedented societal and economic changes, which we wanted to take into consideration when developing a new residential offering. For those of us in the industry we understand any residential provides opportunities for new experiences, building friendships and self-discovery.

We make a point of not simply celebrating achievements throughout the week, but rather gathering everyone together on the final day and cheering people on for their character - in other words, who they are. “I am …” for many of us can be the most difficult sentence to complete being kind to ourselves. We often need those people around us to show us what they see and that’s what we strive to do through Basecamp.

One of the questions we pose to ourselves when we deliver Basecamp is what sort of community is being created. We’ve recognised many places have found value on reflecting and promoting positive values and we’ve taken that on board. Our team share personal stories around daily values, all encouraging us to contribute to our communities in a positive way.

All in all, it's important to us that every person that has an experience of Basecamp leaves empowered, more confident and emboldened for what’s ahead.

I think I understand but tell me straight, what could I expect from a Basecamp visit?

In short then, Basecamp is a residential programme that:
1. Offers outdoor pursuits
2. Focuses on values, though storytelling and discovery through activities
3. Space to have fun and let your hair down with limited structure
4. Takes into consideration the accompanying staff experience
5. Is a mini holiday! Therefore, we do our best to offer quality in everything from prioritising one group at a time, providing carefully thought through, home cooked food and staying with you throughout your stay
6. Looks at the wider world and considers what difference we could make if we all played our part
7. Celebrates character and personality over achievements
8. Is a not-for-profit organisation, so we strive to be as accessible as possible to everyone