Newsflash - we are legal!
Read complete newsletter with images here
Sadly, Sail Boat Project, which had housed the Blue Spirit fund and guided and supported us at the beginning, as well as being one of our sailing partners, went into administration at the end of 2022.
This galvanised us into action and brought forward several actions that had been planned but not yet put into motion: recruiting a board of trustees, applying for charitable status, opening a bank account and creating a website.
You can see our new website here. We hope you like it, but please bear in mind it is still a work in progress. (Your comments and suggestions are welcome!)
Our biggest challenge over the next couple of years will be to raise the funds to enable us to continue our work, widen our reach and increase our impact. Ideally we would like to reach out to more voluntary organisations working in the North East, start referring young people to Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club for dinghy sailing, and reinitiate activities in the South East of England with a new partner.
Your support for doing all this is, of course, invaluable.
Meanwhile, we would like to extend our gratitude to Dhara, Jacquie, Gillian, Mark and all the Directors of Sail Boat Project for helping us get started - and so much more!
Meet the team
Solen Jenny Lees
I am Solen, co-founder of Blue Spirit. I have spent my working life so far teaching, translating, writing and fulfilling various communications and networking roles in the non-profit and higher education sector
Working with and supporting young people, either directly or indirectly, has always been something close to my heart. I raised my two children in Brittany, France, before returning to the UK with my daughter a few years ago, and maintain close ties with that part of the world, where my son Laury learnt to sail.
Blue Spirit was founded in memory and in honour of Laury. His loss to mental illness in 2020 was devastating to me and all his family, but his passion for sailing inspired us to enable other struggling young people to experience something he found to be such a source of peace and joy.
Nina Emett
I am Nina - co-founder of Blue Spirit and godmother of Laury. I have worked in both the charity sector and the arts for most of my career. I have fulfilled many humanitarian roles, working with refugees, victims of hate crime and genocide survivors.
These days I run a not-for-profit arts organisation, FotoDocument, which uses photography to showcase solutions to social and environmental issues globally. I also work as a documentary photographer myself, using my camera to tell stories that I feel passionate about.
I have spent a lot of time in Brittany over the years, where Laury grew up, and I witnessed how much sailing helped him. His mother Solen and I set up Blue Spirit in Laury’s memory to enable young people in difficult circumstances to benefit from sailing. Photo is of me (right) in action on our film / photography project In His Slipstream, which is based on the work of Blue Spirit.
Jemma Willins
I am Jemma, a lover of nature and the great outdoors, and a sports enthusiast. I recently graduated from Newcastle University and currently work as Impact and Sustainability Manager at Marshfield Farm Ice Cream.
People, their culture and their stories fill my heart and inspire me to be a force for good in the world.
At university, I had the privilege volunteering with NEST, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the North East. As part of this, I was invited to organise our 3-day sailing outreach funded by Blue Spirit. I will forever treasure this experience as a core grounding of my university years. I watched children I had been working with for months come out of their shells, be their true authentic selves, learn to cook and to haul up a sail, learn the power of teamwork and communication and to feel success and achievement – and most of all, realise their own capabilities. I am excited to be a trustee of Blue Spirit and hope to be able to bring my energy, smiles and creative thinking to enhance the experience for others and be part of their journeys of self-discovery and peace of mind!
Leda Dadkhah
I am Leda, a specialist teacher in the area of special needs.
My working life has been around education as well as not for profit organisations aimed to improving outcomes for young people and adults facing barriers, including those with an offending history, mental health needs, disability, and educational underachievement. I am passionate about supporting people to achieve their potential.
As a close friend of Solen’s, whom I met whilst we were both in Newcastle University, and someone who knew Laury, I am proud to be asked to contribute to this project with its inspiring approach to supporting people to challenge themselves and see life anew through sailing.
Lily Mae Kroese
I'm Lily, a community artist, animator and illustrator. My practice is driven by a passion for creating community and conversation through creativity. I'm passionate about the significance of trying something new for young people, both in my own practice – seeing the transformation that is possible through exploring art making – and at Blue Spirit in seeing the life-changing impact that sailing can have.
I have long been an enthusiastic wild swimmer and open water has always been a place of healing for me.
Then, having joined the Blue Spirit team for a one-day sailing trip in France, breathing the salty air and seeing a mother dolphin and her baby swim past, I was captivated by the freedom and excitement on the boat. I quickly understood Laury's passion for sailing, even though I sadly never had a chance to meet him. I'm proud to be one of the Trustees for Blue Spirit and look forward to the adventure we're on.
Stephen Castle
My name is Stephen, I am 25 and am on my way to becoming a qualified chef. In July I undertook a 3-day and 2-night sailing trip through Blue Spirit. I started out numb because of working and personal trauma but by the end of it I had experienced 3 days of life, nature and seeing others grow. It has given me memories I share with new friends. I loved the trip so much that when the opportunity came up to do a 5-day sail with Blue Spirit and OYTN, I didn’t hesitate.
This longer trip confirmed my future goals; I am now applying to be a volunteer, working on sailboats. I also hope that I may combine the two (cooking and sailing) and open a door to a life lived on the sea and discovering new places. I have nothing but good words and praise for this project and was happy to be asked to be part of Blue Spirit.
Stuart Page
I’m Stuart, one of Blue Spirit’s trustees. I’ve worked for most of my career in environmental regulation, and I also volunteer as a director and secretary for an environmental charity in my home town of Hexham, Northumberland.
I love the idea of Blue Spirit, and its potential to make a huge difference to young lives. I hope I can bring some skills and experience from my other roles to help Blue Spirit to grow and increase its reach. Unfortunately, as the ‘landlubber’ of the team, seamanship isn’t one of those skills! I am keen on running, cycling and hillwalking though, and know very well how important being active in the outdoors can be for self-esteem and well-being.
It’s great to be part of the team, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together. I might even learn a thing or two about sailing as we go!
How this year is looking
For this sailing season, Blue Spirit has two sails booked for three community groups, which are all returning customers from last year.
The first group is NEST, supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the North East with a range of activities including language support, circus skills, rowing and other sports, as well as fun trips out for youngsters.
One of NEST's support workers said this about the youngsters they work with:
"The young people we are taking away are currently living in really difficult situations and are facing racial discrimination, isolation as well as food poverty. A few have also recently arrived in the county from active warzones as unaccompanied minors. The feedback we have had from families and foster carers is that it means so much to have the opportunity to get out of the city and spend time with other young people who might be able to relate to some of what they’re facing."
A group of young people from NEST will be going out on the North Sea from 26-28 May.
A longer trip (5 days) is planned in the May-June half term for a group made up of young people who are members of two organisations that work in the Cowgate area of Newcastle with youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds - Projects 4 Change and Patchwork.
We will be giving you news about these voyages in our next newsletter!
Thank you for your support that has given so many youngsters a taste of the freedom of the waves!
In his slipstream
‘In his slipstream’ is the working title of a creative project based around last year’s family trip to Brittany.
The latest news is that Solen and family have had a glimpse of a first draft of the film! We are very excited to see this labour of love near completion, and grateful to all those who are collaborating on it.
We have also had news that work is progressing on the photo essay by our trustee, Nina, and are looking forward to seeing the results of that.
Both film and photo essay will be used to raise awareness of life-threatening mental health issues and bereavement and to spread the word about Blue Spirit.
An online fundraiser was set up to raise funds for this project and has been successful enough to allow the team to reach the post-production stage. Thank you for all your generous donations!
Post-production work for the film is being undertaken under the leadership of Joanna Duchesne of JD Works with support from James Reed, working hard to ensure that something beautiful will come of the footage of the trip and of the mini ‘fest noz’ (ceilidh) we held to celebrate Laury’s life.
