Access to Adventure for People with Disabilities

        At the beginning of the year, I wrote to you about what we had accomplished in 2022 and what we saw coming for 2023. I am thrilled to report that our ability to bring adventure to our community continues to grow! We are currently working hard to expand our staff, our capabilities, and our capacity to serve the ever-growing demand.

        This includes the hiring of two new program managers/leaders and an outreach coordinator which will allow us to respond to our wait list and the increasing demand for our adventures. As our pace stands now, we are on target to deliver 250 Adventures for the year 2023, a significant increase from the 213 adventures we delivered in 2022. Our goal is to exceed that forecasted number of adventures by the end of the year.

        I would like to share with you one example of Waypoint’s impact from a participant in one of our partnerships with Boston Public Schools. Our school programs typically utilize modern educational techniques, such as the social and emotional learning framework, to build upon what the students are learning in the classroom. One of our program leaders recently led a series of bi-lingual programs with 3rd through 5th graders. The theme of the series was “I can/Yo Puedo”. The focus was on building the confidence to try new things using team building exercises, indoor rock climbing and kayaking as modalities. After completing Waypoint’s program and while on a field trip not involving Waypoint, one of the students became frightened to go across a raised structure in a children’s museum. The young man spontaneously began yelling “Yo Puedo!” (“I can” in Spanish) until he successfully got across the structure unassisted.

        Waypoint passionately believes that empowering moments like these can become a cornerstone for confidence and achievement throughout a person’s life, whether you’re in the 5th grade or your fifth decade!

Links:

• Waypoint Adventure's Website