About the Nonprofit
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REACH provides experiential learning opportunities focused on STEAM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, & Math) education and adventure sports to refugee youth, ages 11-18, 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 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 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.
Since our pilot project with 9 refugee youth in the summer of 2015, REACH has hosted a series of Summer Adventure Camps and Weekend Adventure Camps in partnership with more than 25 institutions. Through activities such as forest restoration, river clean-ups, macroinvertebrate investigations, paddling and climbing lessons, and camping, REACH has engaged more than 100 youth from 18 countries, who speak a combined total of more than 23 languages.
