Spiritulized Youth For Christ have swam their way to the top to receive the ‘Best Overall Performance’ in the Kingsbridge Estuary Rotary Club Swimarathon.

The local Christian charity raised nearly £500, half of which was returned as a donation to their ongoing outreach and projects with young people in the Kingsbridge area.

The team consisted of director Jonny Richmond, chair of trustees Susan Fish, trustee Peter Hammett and volunteers Julie Tuck and Bob Hamblin, who between them swam close to 120 lengths in the relay competition.

Spiritulized Youth For Christ seek to “engage the young people of Kingsbridge and are passionate about seeing a positive difference made in their lives through one to one connections and the sharing of their faith”.

They are a well-recognised, local Christian charity that was established over 20 years ago by founder Anji Chant, and have worked closely with the police, schools and churches in the area to support, encourage and reach out to the youth of the town through various projects and initiatives.

These include the Mobile Bus Project, Friday Night Project and 16-24 Work Club Kingsbridge, which saw success in the celebration of local young people, entrepreneurs and businesses at it’s third Youth and Business Achievement Awards last November.

In September 2017, project leader and founder Anji Chant stepped down after two decades of service, and Spiritulized Youth For Christ employed a new director, Jonny Richmond.

A 26-year-old from Rugby in the midlands with a degree in Arabic and German, Jonny’s life was changed dramatically when he discovered Christianity at the age of 22, and now works full time with young people here in Kingsbridge.

He said: “Growing up, I struggled with many of the issues young people are facing now – low self-worth, lack of identity, purpose, striving for acceptance and feeling insecure - I tried all sorts of things to find the answers, but nothing seemed to help for long, and honestly my life felt shaky at best.

“Today, for various reason including the rise of social media, these struggles are magnified in the lives of the young people that we meet on a daily basis. My faith in a God who is not distant but offers a real and personal relationship with everyone has filled me with hope and strength, and has taken me through things I could have never overcome on my own.

“We are not about forcing young people to believe what we believe, but simply offering an invitation through showing them the love and kindness that has transformed our lives. We want to encourage them to think about what they believe for themselves and offer them hope for their future.”

Spiritulized Youth For Christ have an office in the Age Concern Kingsbridge building and can be contacted on 07599 272776 for more information.