Our Project

We are looking to raise £20,000 to fund a new minibus to replace our current bus which is 20 years old and on its last legs (or wheels). 

Who we are...

TS Hastings Sea Cadets (“TS Hastings”), a registered local charity, has been offering young people between the ages of 10 and 19 an environment where they can find confidence and inspiration through nautical adventure since 1939.  Part of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) with over 14,000 cadets across the UK, the Sea Cadets challenges young people, giving them the opportunity to learn new skills based on the customs and traditions of the Royal Navy. 

TS Hastings is run entirely by volunteers, mainly former sea cadets, who spend evenings and weekends working with often disadvantaged local youngsters, teaching them the basic principles of Navy life  - from drill to tying knots to sailing and power boating.    The range of activities has been designed to help young people experience adventure, develop personally and gain valuable qualifications along the way. In an increasingly digital age, TS Hastings offers young people the opportunity to put  down their devices, interact with other children and adults while learning new skills that offer a  good grounding to help provide the possible head start in life. 

Our story

Although we run a large amount of training in Hastings many of the courses the cadets need to attend are across the South. Travel  to courses is often provided by us for free as many are from low income households, sometimes we have to cancel cadets off courses if we are unable to provide transport as the families are unable to get them there. Our volunteer instructors often drive the bus to the courses so that they can also gain qualifications whilst they’re away. Our bus is nearly 20 years old & is reaching the end of its life. We have just had to pay a large bill to get it through its MOT & it regularly breaks down whilst away on a course. It is also too heavy for most of our instructors to drive as it exceed the 3.5 ton weight limit and needs a D1 classification on your licence. We are looking to replace the bus with a lighter, nearly new one that more of our volunteers are able to drive. This would mean that more cadets & volunteers would be able to access more courses & therefore gain more qualifications, increasing the activities & skills we are able to deliver. The bus will benefit not only the cadets, parents & volunteers at Hastings but also neighbouring units at Rye & Eastbourne as we often work closely together to share transport. 

Where will the money go? 

If we hit the minimum amount this will go into the pot to purchase a new bus. We are working hard behind the scenes to raise the money needed from a variety of sources and aim to hit £20,000.

If we get the full amount we would be looking at buying a second hand Peugeot Boxer with low mileage. The reason we have chosen this is so that our instructors are able to drive it without having to take an additional test to get a D1 classification on their licence. If things work out even better than we imagined and we smash the £20,000 target we would be able to purchase a brand new bus which would be an absolute dream. 

Find us here...

www.facebook.com/SeaCadetsHastings

www.sea-cadets.org/hastings/home.aspx

Follow us on Facebook for regular updates on what we are getting up to. 

Help us succeed! 

• You don't need to give money to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog.
• In fact, share it with everyone you know as we think it's a great idea, and the more people who know about it, the more likely we are to make this work out brilliantly.
• - And we know we said you don't need to give money to help us, but we'd love it if you did! Please sponsor us and help make this happen