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Burges Salmon’s 25-hour canoe challenge raises £33,000 for Young Bristol

Picture of Jamie Cameron
By Jamie Cameron Kevin Kennedy
8 Jul 2025 4 min read

Following the success of our 25for25 challenge, we have raised over £33,000 for Young Bristol, the charity recognised as Bristol’s leading provider of community-based youth services supporting young people aged 8-25.

In celebration of Young Bristol’s 25th anniversary of its Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre, over 240 people from across Burges Salmon, donning sparkles and fancy dress, flocked to the water last week to undertake a gruelling 25-hour continuous canoe relay along the River Avon and Bristol Docks, with the aim to raise at least £25,000 to support the future of the centre. Supporting Burges Salmon was a team of instructors and volunteers from Young Bristol who accompanied all paddlers throughout the 25-hour period.

Jamie Cameron, a director in the Employment team and head of community engagement at the firm, canoed for over 6 hours. He comments:

“Our 25for25 challenge was about highlighting the importance of providing accessible and engaging activities for young people and our challenge has raised awareness of the inspiring work Young Bristol does through its Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre.

Our initial aim was to raise £25,000 to support Young Bristol’s vital work at the centre and their development plans. Thanks to the immense generosity of our people and the public we have exceeded this target, and we are looking forward to seeing how Young Bristol use these funds to continue to change lives through their work at Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre.

We’d also like to say a huge thank you to all the Young Bristol team for cheering us on and for keeping us safe throughout the challenge. We worked as one team and their support and enthusiasm kept us going.”

Kevin Kennedy, partner and chair of Burges Salmon’s charity committee, adds:

“The event was a fantastic display of Burges Salmon’s culture and commitment to responsible business at its best, bringing our team and firm together for a common cause.

It was fantastic to see people from across our firm and all our offices paddling at all hours and the land support from colleagues and curious onlookers was also terrific.

The event created quite the buzz, not only around the office but alongside the whole harbourside and we’re immensely proud to have worked with Young Bristol on such a brilliant initiative. Our efforts are making a significant difference in the lives of many young individuals.”

Since opening on July 4, 2000, the award-winning Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre has grown to become one of Bristol’s premier providers of adventure activities, offering 16 water and land-based activities that support young people’s physical and mental wellbeing through free and low-cost outdoor experiences. The Centre also works with schools, colleges, pupil referral units, youth groups and corporates and, with increased reach, the centre hopes to make a difference to even more people across the city.

Lee Williams DL, Chief Executive at Young Bristol, comments:

“The support from Burges Salmon through their 25for25 fundraising challenge has been nothing short of incredible! The challenge saw Burges Salmon’s people come together to canoe for 25-hours, raising £33,000 to support our work with young people – a truly memorable event.

The support of corporate supporters such as Burges Salmon is vital to our charity, helping to not only spread awareness of our work, but to develop our provisions and support our work to thrive.

The money raised will allow our Outdoor Activity Centre to continue to provide life-changing outdoor experiences. Thank you to everyone at Burges Salmon for your fantastic fundraising efforts!”

Our collaboration with Young Bristol supports the firm’s charitable theme, Fairer Futures for Young People, with the firm working across its communities in Bristol, Edinburgh and London to support education, health and wellbeing and social mobility projects and help tackle homelessness and food poverty amongst young people.

Across the UK, the firm collaborates with over 60 charities and community groups, providing financial contributions, pro-bono advice, volunteering and in-kind support.