THE M2M DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Applications are currently open until the 16th of October, 2026!
If life has knocked you off course - through injury, illness or another turn you didn't choose - and you're ready to move forward and build what comes next, this is for you.
The M2M Core Programme is a three-year journey built around one belief: that with the right conditions, community and time, people can redefine what's happened to them - so their story turns from one of restriction to one of possibility. We won't hand you a new version of yourself, but we'll give you everything you need to build it: the opportunities, the resources, the support. The work is yours. It's ‘inch-wide, mile-deep’: we work closely with a small number of people so the change actually lasts.
“M2M is more than a charity, it’s a community, it’s a family” – Leah Birkin, 2021-2023 Beneficiary
Is This For Someone Like Me?
“I thought other people needed it more.”
We hear this all the time - and it's usually the people who'd benefit most who say it. So let's be clear about who the programme is for.
It's for people whose lives have been changed by something that happened to them: an accident, a serious injury or illness, or another life-altering event. Most of the people we work with are navigating physical injury or trauma, and some are navigating the emotional weight of what they've been through - but there's almost always a specific event that knocked them off course.
Here's the part worth hearing: this was never about how bad it was. There's no scoreboard, and no bar you have to clear to deserve support. If something happened, and you're finding it hard to move forward, that's enough. You don't have to prove your pain to be worth a place here.
(One honest note: the programme is built around growth, not crisis or clinical care. If that's what you're facing right now, your GP or local Mind will be better placed to help - and we'd genuinely encourage you to reach out to them.)
The Core Programme is a space for growth rather than a crisis service, and it involves multi-day walks in remote terrain - so it isn't the right fit for everyone. If it's not quite right for you, or not right yet, our Together Outdoors Community - including wheelchair-friendly walks - is open to a much wider range of needs, whenever you need it. (We'll always talk openly about fit during the application.)
How the Programme Works
Every journey is different, but each one is built on the same foundations: life coaching, a global adventure, practical grants, and a community that has your back.
The Global Adventure
Each year we take a small group on a challenge somewhere extraordinary. It's the catalyst - and the point isn't fitness. Most people arrive having been told for years what they can't do. The challenge is where you get to prove to yourself that you can, and reconnect with the world around you instead of a screen.
The Three-Year Journey
The adventure is the spark; the real work happens in the years around it. Regular life coaching, tailored to you, helps you make sense of what you've been through and choose how you carry it. Grants clear practical obstacles along the way.
The Community
This is where a lot of the strength comes from. You'll be part of a group of people who simply get it - no need to explain yourself. The peer support is, honestly, the thing most people say they didn't expect and couldn't do without.
What's Included
A place on one of our M2M Global Challenges - the adventure of a lifetime
Flights, transfers, and travel & health insurance
A welcome pack and kit bundle (up to £250)
Training support in the run-up to your challenge
Life coaching sessions across all three years
A yearly grant of up to £1,000 towards your own development - skills training, therapy, physiotherapy
Grant and travel expenses to join Walk the Coast
Ongoing support from the M2M community and ambassador network
50% off all future M2M trips while utilising your grant, up to £5,000
What to Expect (the honest version)
We'll be straight with you, because that's how we'd want it. This programme asks something of you. Opening up can feel daunting, the challenges are called challenges for a reason, and growth rarely arrives in a straight line.
What we promise in return: you'll never do it alone, you'll be met without judgement, and your wellbeing and safety come first - on every walk, every trip and every conversation. We're here to walk alongside you, not to fix you. The steps are yours; we'll be right beside you for them.
Life Beyond the Three Years
The programme has an end date; being part of M2M doesn't. Many of the people who've come through stay connected - mentoring the next group, joining Together Outdoors, and supporting one another well beyond their three years.
We're always growing the ways our community can help each other take the next step - from sharing opportunities to simply staying in touch. Once you're part of M2M, you're part of it for good.
Our Values
Whatever the cause of trauma, and whatever its knock-on effects, we believe in the healing power of purpose, progress, perseverance and perspective.
These four values are the foundation of Millimetres 2 Mountains - woven into everything we do and everything we hope to offer. The simple aim of the programme is that people come out of their three years understanding and living them.
Purpose — one of the cornerstones of happiness, and its absence is often what makes a period of life so hard. We help people find or rediscover purpose by challenging what they believe about themselves. Step outside your comfort zone, realise how capable you are, and a world of new possibilities opens up.
Perseverance — the ability to keep going for the greater good, especially in the face of difficulty or discouragement. It's one of the most valuable traits you can carry, and it becomes vital in times of hardship. We believe perseverance can be nurtured through experience - and our challenges are designed to do exactly that.
Progress — purpose and perseverance lead to progress, and progress, however small, is crucial to self-worth. Too often we wait for the right moment instead of taking the first step. Momentum follows action - and the first step is where we want to help. Small steps, big dreams.
Perspective — it's easy to focus on what we've lost and miss what's right in front of us. After trauma, life can feel painted black. With the support of our community, we help people change the lens they view their life through - and, stitch by stitch, reintroduce colour.
Ready to take the first step?
Applications open on the 1st September 2026. Sign up to our newsletter now and you'll be informed the moment they do - or come and meet us on a Together Outdoors walk in the meantime.
For anyone looking to re-apply to our programme
If you'd like to re-apply for our programme for next year and have done so in the past - we ask that you complete the form below so we're up-to-speed on any updates to take into consideration. Please get in touch with Kimberly at [email protected] if you have any additional questions.