By Emily Aron, No Barriers Program Director – Caregivers, Youth, Adults with Disabilities
This summer season has been packed with youth programming! We have already served over 100 youth from organizations locally and nationally. Here is a snapshot what we’ve been up to:
In July, we hosted 12 teenage boys from Zanesville, Ohio, as part of a trip with Project Blueprint 740, sponsored by the Straker Charitable Foundation and Muskingum County Community Foundation. For all 12 boys, this was not only their first visit to Colorado, but a tremendously impactful experience.
“This (program) has changed my outlook on how to interact with my team and given me tools to reach that goal.” – participant
If you haven’t seen the local news story, we invite you to check it out here.
Ohio students with Erik Weihenmayer[/caption]
No Barriers hosted a weekend with the Cultural Enrichment Center of Colorado and the Dandelion Program at CSU. The goal was to support local youth from the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) community of Fort Collins with skills and experiences to gain confidence and comfort in the outdoors.
Participants learned about outdoor survival, practiced team building skills, and learned No Barriers Life Elements, providing them with a foundation to reach both individual and collective goals.
We have hosted several youth day camps this summer, in partnership with local non-profits, including Kids at Heart , Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County , and Boys & Girls Club of Weld County. Participants join No Barriers hiking, spending time on the challenge course, and disconnecting from technology while reconnecting with one another. Time is spent learning the No Barriers Life Elements and discussing how participant can apply the Elements in their day to day lives.
We recently had the pleasure of hosting a group of teens with Kids at Heart for 3-day, 2-night program. It was an amazing experience to watch the teen community grow together and enjoy spending time playing games and getting to know one another. We even enjoyed a bit of what we like to call “liquid sunshine”…some might call it rain!
Still to come, we are looking forward to some great program partnerships with local schools and are excited to support youth connecting with classmates and building stronger relationships among their peers and learning communities.
If you know of a youth group(s) that might be interested in learning more about No Barriers Youth Programming, please let us know! Email us..
