The collaboration helping young adults thrive after childhood illness

When Holland & Barrett teamed up with Barretstown, the goal was more than just fundraising. It was to equip young people who had experienced childhood illness with the tools to navigate adult life.

The transition from childhood into young adulthood is not always an easy one. Those early teenage years can be fraught with worry and insecurity, and, for some, the journey can be particularly difficult. That is often the case for young people who have already dealt with the challenge of serious illness early in their lives, as Dee Ahearn, chief executive of children’s charity Barretstown, explains.

“For many young adults who experienced serious childhood illness, the transition into adulthood brings complex challenges that extend far beyond their health journey,” she says. “Long after treatment ends, some young people continue to navigate challenges related to confidence, independence and finding their place as they look towards the future.”

To support these young people as they embark on this new stage of life, Barretstown joined forces with Holland & Barrett, a leading health and wellness retailer, and created the young adult programme Five to Thrive.

This three-day residential programme is for young people aged 18–24 who previously attended Barretstown camps as children. The charity provides therapeutic camps and psychosocial care for children and families living with cancer and other serious illnesses. This new initiative in collaboration with Holland & Barrett is a chance to extend that vital support into adulthood.

Held twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn, the residential camps offer young people a space to reconnect with the Barretstown community, build connections with their peers, and develop essential skills for the next phase of their lives.

“In the first of the programmes, we introduced the participants to the overall concepts of Five to Thrive, namely Connect, Move, Nourish, Mind and Sleep,” Ahearn says, “while in the second programme, participants learn about how to adapt these concepts in everyday life.”

Holland & Barrett has been supporting Barretstown since 2025, raising more than €150,000 through fundraising across its 70 Irish stores. But the collaboration goes much further than the traditional charity partnership.

At the core of the young adult programme is a dedicated health and wellness day co-created and delivered alongside Holland & Barrett’s expert wellness champions. Centred on the key Five To Thrive wellness pillars, it provides accessible and engaging information on topics such as nutrition, movement, and mental wellbeing to the young people taking part.

“We couldn’t have found a more appropriate partner for our young adult programme,” Ahearn says. “It’s a partnership that goes beyond fundraising, with our young people at the heart of everything we do together. By combining Holland & Barrett’s expertise in health and wellbeing with Barretstown’s psychosocial care programmes, we can provide young people with a more rounded and meaningful experience.”

One of the young adults who has benefited from the programme is 19-year-old Kaela Nolan from Navan, Co Meath. Kaela had attended Barretstown at the age of 10 and is taking part in the Young Adult Programme this year.

“I really enjoyed the first camp, especially getting to spend time with the group and meeting other people who have had similar experiences to me,” she says. “The health and wellness day with Holland & Barrett was really useful too. We talked about things like nutrition, movement, and sleep, and there were lots of small things that I could actually see myself doing in everyday life. It was nice that it wasn’t just about being told what to do but actually having a chance to try things and talk about what works for us.”

With the second camp taking place this weekend, Kaela is looking forward to reconnecting with the group, experiencing new activities and trying out a few of the skills she picked up at the start of the programme. “I think it’ll be good to take some of what we learned in the first camp and actually put it into practice,” she says.

Building on the first camp earlier this year, the next phase will take the learnings from a dedicated Holland & Barrett health and wellness day and put them into practice through new activities, challenges and real-life scenarios.

For many young adults who experienced serious childhood illness, the transition into adulthood brings complex challenges that extend far beyond their health journey

—  Dee Ahearn, chief executive, Barretstown

This is exactly what the initiative was designed to achieve, Ahearn says. “The whole purpose of the programme is to equip participants with practical life skills they can use in study, work and relationships.”

Along with key wellness tools, the young attendees also learn about the importance of good communication, the benefits of teamwork, and how to develop their self-confidence as they move into adulthood. The goal is for the programme’s impact to extend far beyond the residential camps and into the young people’s lives for the long-term.

The early results are encouraging, with 100 per cent of participants reporting that they enjoyed the experience and that it has helped them connect socially with others. “The programme, in its first year, has been a great success with very positive feedback from participants who have been universally grateful for the supports provided,” Ahearn says. “The ability to connect, and in many cases reconnect, with campers who have been through Barretstown’s residential programmes previously has stood out as being a highlight.”

The partnership with Barretstown is just one example of Holland & Barrett’s Back Your Body campaign, which focuses on making expert-led wellbeing support available to everyone. Through initiatives such as this, Holland & Barrett is helping to empower people to increase their confidence, create good habits and develop the resilience to deal with whatever life sends their way.

“We’re incredibly proud to support Barretstown through both fundraising and the expertise of our colleagues,” says Adam Moore, director of stores at Holland & Barrett. “It’s a great example of our Back Your Body commitment in action – making wellbeing support accessible and relevant to people at different stages of life.”

Still in its first year, the success of the Barretstown young adult programme Five to Thrive is a testament to how effective authentic collaborations can be. By combining expert-led support with genuine care, community, and empowerment, it is possible to create a lasting and meaningful impact for young people as they move into adulthood. For Barretstown, it also represents a natural extension of the support it has long provided to Ireland’s children and families.

“This partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration and the opportunities that can be created when organisations come together with a shared purpose,” Ahearn says. “Ultimately, it is our young people who benefit most.”

For more information on the Holland & Barrett and Barretstown partnership, visit hollandandbarrett.ie/l/barretstown