REFUGEE EDUCATION AND ADVENTURE CHALLENGE
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to inspire leadership, academic success, and connections among refugee youth through active dynamic learning outside the traditional classroom.
About This Cause
Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH) is a nonprofit agency introducing experiential learning opportunities focused on STEAM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, & Math) education and adventure sports to refugee youth, ages 10-18 (4th thru 12th grade), who are at-risk due to integration barriers (language, cultural adjustment, education) and other factors (gang recruitment, violent crime, discrimination/bullying). REACH helps integrate newcomers into the social fabric of the areas in which they are being resettled. Our programs focus on developing social capital, which helps shift the marginal status that is often held by refugee youth and their families. Our mission is to inspire leadership, academic success, and connections among refugee youth through active dynamic learning outside the traditional classroom. Short-term objectives are to build leadership skills, enhance outdoor experiences, reduce youth isolation, expand family activities, build practical STEAM skills, and provide career development. REACH engages refugee youth in outdoor education and adventure sports, helping them to foster connections, enhance knowledge and leadership growth, improve health and fitness, and develop a sense of stewardship of public lands. REACH is unique in its focus on breaking down social, economic, and place-based barriers with experiential learning and adventure therapy methods. Our vision is to build a sense of space and learning through an engaged network of refugee youth, their families, and adult mentors. REACH program participants gain skills in English language proficiency, interpersonal dynamics, teambuilding, leadership, STEAM education (i.e., living organisms, stream ecology, nature photography, urban habitats, sustainable cities), service learning, and outdoor adventure sports like paddling, biking, hiking, climbing, archery, fishing, skiing, snow tubing, ice skating, and camping. Refugee families with youth members participating in REACH also receive support services, such as in-depth intake and follow-up assessments, home visits, and workshops on schooling in the United States, parent engagement, community connections, post-secondary education options, financial assistance and scholarship options, and career exploration for their children. REACH families are invited to accompany their children at annual picnic award ceremonies and periodic family adventure weekends. Target Population and Recruitment: REACH recruits at-risk refugee adolescents from local resettlement agencies (Refugee One, Heartland Human Care Services, Catholic Charities, and World Relief), mutual aid associations (Iraqi Mutual Aid Society, Rohingya Culture Center, Pan African Association, Syrian Action Network), and via referrals from local high schools (Senn, Sullivan, Roosevelt, Mather) and the Department of Child & Family Services. REACH primarily serves refugee families living in the Albany Park, Rogers Park, West Ridge, Edgewater, and Uptown communities, though some youth are also recruited from the suburbs of Skokie and Evanston. Service Structure: REACH has developed and implemented seven core program components: 1) Summer Adventure Camps, 2) Weekend Adventure Camps, 3) Nature Play Groups, 4) Peer Mentor Training (Leadership Development), 5) Discovery Quests, 6) Compass College & Career Readiness, and 7) Support Services. 1. Summer Adventure Camp: six weeks of day camp and overnight camping trips during which participants engage in adventure sports and outdoor education activities, like biking, climbing, kayaking, nature hikes, forest restoration, and rock climbing, with adventure-based English instruction. Youth can participate in gender-specific overnight tent camping trips and a four-day co-ed sleep-away camp experience, including teambuilding activities (scavenger hunts, improv skits), adventure sports (rope skills, archery, river tubing), and leadership development (problem solving, cooperative learning). Youth showcase their new learning at a family picnic and awards ceremony finale. 2. Weekend Adventure Camps: bi-monthly day or overnight trips during the schoolyear where youth build on skills and activities learned at summer camp sessions, focusing on working as a group, decision making, and technical skills development, all while adventuring outdoors. Single day trips include hiking, rock climbing, biking, canoeing, skiing, ice skating, or museum visits. Multi-day trips include the above as well as winter camping overnights, spring or fall paddling trips along a local riverway, or attendance at environmental or adventure sports symposiums. 3. Nature Play Groups: monthly playgroups during the schoolyear for REACH moms with small children (0 to 7 years), including age-appropriate experiential learning activities focused on nature, the environment, and exploration. Parents are introduced to accessible locations where they can take their whole family. Emphasis is placed on the power of “exploring our own backyard” by visiting local parks and absorbing the different ecosystems of our local community. 4. Peer Mentor Training: ongoing leadership training and technical skills development (i.e., paddling, coaching, wilderness first aid, CPR, improv/drama) for youth participants who demonstrate leadership qualities and/or a deeper interest in STEAM topics or outdoor education/adventure sports. Peer Mentors meet weekly to identify and plan areas for personal and organizational growth through skills training, investigations, and service-learning projects. As REACH plans for the future, we are focusing on leadership training, internships, and work opportunities that will employ REACH youth as outdoor educators, leaders, and guides within the organization or with partners. 5. Support Services: All refugee youth who participate in REACH receive support services to help them reach their potential and feel fully supported at home, at school and in the community. A key component of REACH is to conduct home visits to meet with parents and participating youth and assess their progress in school, at home, and within their social networks. Since the launch of our pilot project with 10 refugee youth in summer 2015, REACH has directly engaged more than 800 refugees from 36 countries in 5,000+ hours of outdoor education, adventure sports, and leadership development activities together with more than 195+ local partners and volunteers. REACH has also influenced more than 1,500 newcomer constituents to access nature in their neighborhoods through word-of-mouth and community engagement. Our model has been featured in BBC Wildlife Magazine, CBS Mornings with Gayle King, CBS Evening News, Free Forest School’s Blog, Granite Gear’s Hot Minute Podcast, Outside Magazine, the Oak Park Wednesday Journal, and by the UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency.