The Wave Project, an award-winning community interest company that delivers therapeutic surfing courses for vulnerable young people, has been granted charity status.

The Truro-based organisation retains its limited company status and is now listed as a charitable company with the Charities Commission. The move has been welcomed by Wave Project founder and CEO, Joe Taylor, who said: “Our conversion from a CIC to a charity has taken almost two years, from the initial meeting of our directors (now trustees) to consider this change, through to getting our charity number.

“This is an important development for the Wave Project, as it puts us on a clearly charitable footing as we progress through to the next stage of our development. The project has expanded massively since our pilot scheme in 2010, when we ran a course for just 20 young people from Watergate Bay. Now we are working with up to 150 children per week in locations as diverse as Dunbar in Scotland to the Isle of Wight.

“The success of the Wave Project has been down to the hard work, dedication and basic awesomeness of all our staff and over 400 volunteers who have supported our surf sessions since 2010.

“But I would like to say a big thank you to another group of volunteers, our trustees, whose work is less visible, but equally important. It is they who have worked tirelessly and unpaid over the past five years to help get the project where it is today. One of their activities has been to undertake this charity conversion, helping to set us up for the future as a registered charity.”