The Adventure Continues: Thank You for Supporting Raleigh in 2025

In January 2025, we were delighted to relaunch Raleigh programmes in Borneo, marking a much-anticipated return to Sabah – a region where Raleigh has a long-rooted history and which holds a special place in the heart of many of our alumni. Led by a brilliant new team, Raleigh Borneo opened the door new adventures for Raleigh Venturers, and importantly to impactful environmental and community projects supporting local infrastructure development and vital conservation work.

In the community of Rumantai, Venturers worked alongside local Indigenous communities to build essential infrastructure, including a new community hall, sanitation systems, and drainage, improving quality of life for residents. In Sungai Eloi, Venturers supported mangrove rehabilitation through the creation of mangrove nurseries, the construction of a new jetty, and the building of a community learning centre to promote development and environmental education.

On what has been an incredibly successful first year back in Borneo, many Venturers shared their Expedition highlights and reflections through our Raleigh Debrief series. Their stories capture the spirit of this new chapter, and we can’t wait to welcome even more Venturers to Sabah in 2026.

Find out more: Check out our Borneo Expeditions 

Raleigh Expeditions also continued to thrive in South Africa and Costa Rica, where our long-standing partnerships helped us to grow our impact.

In Costa Rica, Venturers continued working across the Chirripó region and along the Caribbean and Pacific Coast. With over 20 years working in the country, our 2025 projects supported the development of new classrooms and school facilities, helping to improve access to education for indigenous young people. We were also proud to expand our environmental work, launching new projects in Caño Negro, one of Costa Rica’s most important wetland ecosystems in the north of Costa Rica, where Venturers supported wildlife conservation and biodiversity protection.

In South Africa, we continued delivering projects in the Kruger region. After three successful years supporting development in the rural community of Seville B, we proudly completed our work there and began new projects in the Metsi community. This allowed us to extend our reach, supporting new schools and engaging with a wider community of students. Our environmental projects also grew, particularly at the Cape Vulture Conservancy, where Venturers worked closely with local conservation partners to restore habitats and protect South Africa’s natural environment.

Find out more: Our 2026 and 2027 Expedition

Thanks to the generous support of the Raleigh Alumni Community and our continued partnership with the Scientific Exploration Society, we were proud to welcome three new Venturers onto Expeditions this year through the SES Raleigh Explorer Award. This bursary supports young people from low-income backgrounds to access life-changing Raleigh experiences.

The Raleigh Alumni Community remains a vital part of who we are. As we continue to grow our alumni network year on year, we were delighted to reconnect with hundreds more alumni from across the decades in 2025. We continue to aspire to reconnect with even more alumni from across our history through Raleigh Reconnect and strongly welcome our alumni to continue to stay involved with us to celebrate Raleigh Expedition.

Raleigh Alumni Societies continued to thrive, with the Raleigh UK National Society running events including a Three Peaks Challenge fundraiser and an alumni navigation weekend in Wales, nurturing the Raleigh spirit for alumni long after their Expeditions. We also saw the launch of the new Raleigh UK Youth group which you can find Instagram. Thank you to all those involved in these groups and the support they provide for alumni.

Our international societies also continued to engage and grow, and we were thrilled to work with Raleigh Bermuda, Raleigh Costa Rica, Raleigh Sabah and Raleigh Kuala Lumpur, on initiatives to welcome Society National Venturers onto Expeditions in 2025.

Looking ahead, there is so much to be excited about in 2026. We look forward to welcoming hundreds more young people on Expeditions in South Africa, Costa Rica, and Borneo, as our projects and opportunities continue to grow.

We are particularly excited to launch new School Expeditions in partnership with Camps International. These shorter programmes will introduce young people aged 14–17 to the world of Raleigh and adventure with purpose, opening up our experiences to a new generation.

We are also beginning plans for a grand Raleigh Alumni Reunion, which we hope will be a truly momentous event for our Alumni Community. We look forward to sharing more details about it next year! In the meantime, you can register your interest with us.

If you’d like to hear more about what’s happening in 2026, sign up to our newsletter. 

Once again, we were inspired by the ambition, resilience, and compassion of the young people who embraced adventure with purpose on Raleigh Expeditions. Honouring our 40-year legacy, we are proud to have supported so many Venturers to build confidence, skills, and a lasting sense of purpose through projects that make a real difference around the world.

Thank you to our partners, supporters, alumni community, and the 332 Raleigh Venturers who made this year possible.

Wishing you Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year. We look forward to connecting with you again in 2026.