Holland and Barrett with Barretstown Are Helping Young Adults Truly Thrive

When a child is diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness, the world as their family knows it changes overnight. The hospital visits, the treatment, the fear — it’s all-consuming. But what happens when they grow up? When they’re technically in remission, technically an adult, and yet still carrying all of that with them into a world that expects them to just… get on with it?

That’s the gap that Barretstown’s Five to Thrive programme is trying to fill. And thanks to a remarkable partnership with Holland & Barrett, it’s now reaching more young people than ever.

What is Five to Thrive?

Five to Thrive is a residential programme run by Barretstown for young adults aged 18 to 24 who attended the camp as children while living with cancer or another serious illness. They come back — older, hopefully healthier, but often still searching for a sense of community with people who truly get it — for two weekend camps each year.

The programme is built around five pillars: Connect, Nourish, Move, Mind and Sleep. It’s not about being lectured at or handed a leaflet. It’s about building practical skills and real friendships in a place that already feels like home.

This month, the second of the two 2026 camps is set to take place at Barretstown, picking up where the first camp left off. That first camp included a dedicated Health & Wellness Day delivered by Holland & Barrett’s trained Wellness Champions, covering everything from nutrition and movement to mental wellbeing and sleep. The second camp will take a more hands-on approach — giving participants the chance to put what they’ve learned into actual practice, through new activities, challenges and real-life scenarios.

Kaela Nolan

Kaela’s story

Among the participants heading back to Barretstown this October is Kaela Nolan, a 19-year-old from Navan in Co. Meath. Kaela first attended Barretstown at the age of ten. Now she’s returning as a young adult — and she says the first camp this year gave her something genuinely useful to take home.

“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 said. “The Health & 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.”

Kaela is looking forward to what comes next. “I think it’ll be good to take some of what we learned in the first camp and actually put it into practice,” she added.

That kind of grounded, real-world focus is exactly what sets Five to Thrive apart. There’s no one-size-fits-all prescription here. It’s about giving young people tools they can actually use — on a Monday morning, during exam season, on the days when things feel heavy.

€150,000 raised and counting

The Holland & Barrett partnership with Barretstown began in 2025, initially through in-store fundraising across Holland & Barrett’s Irish stores. Since then, customers and colleagues together have raised more than €150,000 for the charity — a figure that, when you consider each weekend programme costs around €50,000 to deliver, is the equivalent of funding three full weekend camps.

In 2026, the partnership went a step further, with Holland & Barrett’s Wellness Champions working directly alongside the Barretstown team to co-create and deliver the Health & Wellness Day content within Five to Thrive.

Dee Ahearn, CEO at Barretstown, said the collaboration has been meaningful in a way that goes well beyond a cheque. “It’s a partnership that goes beyond fundraising, with our young people at the heart of everything we do together,” she said. “Their practical wellbeing expertise complements Barretstown’s therapeutic and peer support approach, giving young adults tools they can take into everyday life.”

The results from the first camp speak for themselves. Every single participant said they enjoyed Five to Thrive, and every single one said it gave them an opportunity to connect socially with others. 73% rated the Holland & Barrett Health & Wellness Day eight out of ten or higher.

Adam Moore, Director of Stores at Holland & Barrett, said the company is proud of the role its colleagues are playing. “By bringing the expertise of our trained colleagues into the Young Adult Programme, we can make trusted health and wellness support more accessible and relevant to everyday life — helping young people build positive habits that can support them for years to come.”

For many of us, Barretstown is a name we’ve heard with a kind of quiet reverence. It’s the place that gives seriously ill children a chance to just be kids again. Five to Thrive is proof that the magic of that place doesn’t have to end when childhood does. For more information on the partnership, visit hollandandbarrett.ie.