Old Viking Richard Hall, who attended Shiplake College between 1963 and 1967, has been included in the Queen’s New Year honours list for 2015. Richard has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to adventure therapy and addiction services in south west England.
The British Empire Medal is awarded for ‘meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the crown’, generally recognising people who are actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work within their local community. Richard qualified through his exceptional contributions as founder and primary therapist for Sailaday OK.
Sailaday provides adventure therapy, which supports rehabilitation centre programmes to help people to recover from addictions, trauma and abuse by providing a challenge outdoor experience. Sailing is an enjoyable way to develop self-confidence, self-reliance and communication skills. The therapy has been proven to assist participants’ recovery, as they resume their normal lives with a renewed sense of positivity, energy, self-esteem and hope.
Richard commented: ‘I feel honoured to receive this recognition of my work with Sailaday OK and am very grateful for the nomination and support of our brilliant team. I trust that this achievement will give hope and inspiration to all others who have also suffered/suffer from addictions, abuse and trauma. I am pleased that Sailaday OK is also getting this exposure, which will help us in our search for a patron.’
Next month, Richard is returning to the College to talk to Sixth Form Business and Psychology students about his charity organisation. Year 12 Business students are currently studying the marketing mix, and will be interested to learn ways in which Richard tries to broaden awareness of his charity and get their valuable work into the public eye. Psychologists will focus on the rehabilitation effects of unique therapies, to assist their study of addictions.
More information about the work of Richard and the Sailaday OK charity can be found on their website.
