We moved to a new venue in October 2016 and since then the unit has grown significantly in numbers and we have been able to offer fantastic new opportunities to young people aged 10-18. However, we work in a very small space of 3 meters x 8 meters and we are now short to space to expand our activities to more than 25 people and consequently have a waiting list of people to join.

There is a church hall next to our building which we have been able to use for free occasionally on a Friday evening if it is not booked by another user. This has enabled us to offer taster sessions to those on the waiting list but we are unable to welcome them into the group permanently as we couldn't manage them in our existing space. Now that we have seen the potential, we would like to raise funds to secure a permanent booking of these facilities every Friday evening and on Monday evenings during the Spring and winter when we are not boating in 2018.

The church currently hire the facilities at £15 per hour. We have had conversations with them and for £2,250 per year, we would be able to book the facilities every Friday evening, and on Monday nights between the start of September and the end of April each year. This would allow us to take up to 50 cadets per parade night and would allow us to significantly expand as a successful unit.

Besides our waiting list, we have not yet engaged with local schools as other units have, simply as we do not have the space currently. We hope that once we can provide additional space to deliver training, we will be able to access support from a paid development worker (from the national charity) to enable us to access local schools and offer our activities to more young people.

The Sea Cadets is the largest youth maritime charity in Britain. Each unit is its own individual charity - we raise our funds through bag packing, sponsorship, grants and donations. Cadets in return pay £1 per week to access our activities, making them affordable to the families and young people in Barnet. Once we have more cadets, the additional subscriptions made per week will enable us to continue to afford this project once the funding for the first year has been spent.

Young people can join our organisation at 10 years old and become a Junior Sea Cadet - receiving training in naval histories and customs, first aid, cookery, archery, camping, healthy eating, rowing, sailing, power-boating, windsurfing and many more but with the emphasis on making new friends and enjoying introductions to these subjects

Young people can also join at any age between 12 and 18 - as Sea Cadets they receive similar training and opportunities to Junior Sea Cadets but have the opportunity to develop specialisms as they wish, often gaining nationally recognised qualifications including BTEC's, Duke of Edinburgh Awards, St John Ambulance First Aid Certificates as well as qualifications from the RYA, BCU, British Rowing and many more!