* The Michelle Jurd Trust is a Cumbrian charity, founded in 2011 in memory of Michelle Jurd, a former RAF helicopter navigator, and mother of two young girls.

Since then the charity has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds, which has been used to fund adventurous training and other developmental training for young people across the county. This has included supporting locals schools, funding canoeing trips and days at adventurous training centres, and buying equipment for the Bendrigg Trust who specialise in adventurous activity for disabled children. The aims of the charity reflect the interests of Michelle Jurd, who had a love of adventure.

In response to the increasingly tough fundraising conditions that are facing charities across the UK, the Michelle Jurd Trust has switched its fundraising focus, putting effort into finding long-term corporate and individual donors who will commit to supporting the charity into the future.

Michelle Jurd Trust Chair Dr Brian Gregory, who is a lecturer at Lancaster University Business School said 'fundraising is tough, and we know a lot of people don't have a penny to spare right now, so rather than chase them for money they can't afford to give we are switching our model to partner with businesses and the people that can afford to help and want to have a direct impact on young people in this area'.

So far four local companies including Leader-Connect and Red Door Consultancy have committed to support the charity by donating £1000 per year, and charity founder Neil Jurd OBE is confident that this is an approach that will allow the charity to thrive. Neil said 'for 15 years the Michelle Jurd Trust has made a huge difference to thousands of young people and now we're looking for long term support from local businesses that like what we we do.'

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