No images? Click here Navigating Our Future, Together As the coronavirus pandemic impacts the U.S. and the world, North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) faces what could be an insurmountable challenge. Over the last month, we have continually asked ourselves: how will we move forward in the face of adversity? With the utmost concern and respect for our staff and our organization, we have made very difficult decisions. We have paused all programming until the end of June and will be making further decisions about summer courses later this month. Today, we forge ahead just as we would ask of our expedition students—with courage, tenacity, hope, an undefeatable spirit, and above all, compassion. We know full well that we cannot do this alone, and we remind ourselves that when we work together, much can be accomplished and challenges can be overcome. For now, we continue to assess the unfolding situation and sustain the effort to overcome the impact of the pandemic and prepare for the revival of our educational programs once it is reasonable to do so. We have full confidence that Outward Bound programming will resume again, and we look forward to a successful season ahead. Giving Tuesday NOW Resilience is found not in the singular me but in the plural we. Discovered in a humble request for help and built in the compassion offered by a crew who picks up the weight of a pack too large to carry alone, distributes the load and bears it together. As part of our crew, we look to you and ask for your help in bearing the weight of this current storm. Join us TODAY or on May 5 for #GivingTuesdayNow by making a gift to help NCOBS recover from the impact of COVID-19. Every little bit helps! Together, we can ensure that future participants know they are never alone, there is far more in them than they know, and that united it is possible to create a world that is #ResilientTogether. The 2020 Collier Lilly Ride for North Carolina Outward Bound School has gone virtual! Due to the uncertainty of group gatherings because of COVID-19, NCOBS and iDaph Events have decided to make this year's Collier Lilly Ride a virtual one. We hope you will join us for a bike ride, run or walk in your community on May 23. There will be no registration fees and no required number of miles and because it is virtual, you can participate from anywhere! This event is for everyone to get outside, enjoy some fresh air and support NCOBS, while being safe and practice social distancing. Share your activity and use the hashtag #CollierLillyRide when you post so we can cheer you on! If you can, please consider a donation in the number of miles that you complete. We look forward to being back together with all our amazing riders and sponsors in 2021! Virtual Resilient Together Personal Challenge Event A Hit!We were absolutely blown away by the turnout last weekend for the virtual #ResilientTogetherPCE! We could hardly keep up with everyone’s chosen personal challenges. What we did see, however, was a huge network of Outward Bounders from all around the world come together to prove that none of us are alone in the current global challenge and that Outward Bound is stronger than ever. We encourage all of you to continue to serve, strive and not to yield, and remember, we are crew -- not passengers. Here are just some of the stories we collected from the virtual Personal Challenge Event (PCE) that might bring a smile to your face: Reaching the Mountains. Remotely. Like so many organizations, North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) is adapting during this time. In an effort to continue to deliver our mission of changing lives through challenge and discovery, we are delivering programs remotely. Around the east coast we have skilled instructors working diligently to adapt our in-person activities and lessons so that they can be delivered via conferencing platforms. This past week alone we delivered programs to public school students and a corporate leadership team.
Kurt Hahn founded Outward Bound in the depths of an extended international crisis in the first half of the 20th Century: the Great Depression followed by World War II. The first Outward Bound school in Wales took young men in the Merchant Marine and showed them through shared challenges that there was more in them than they knew, and they could support others in their crew to find the same strength. The work was needed then, and it's needed now in the midst of the fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our wilderness expeditions create challenging and adverse conditions that are ripe for self-discovery. Now, due to the global crisis, those conditions are present in our everyday lives which in turn forces introspection. Outward Bound methodologies support adverse experiences, like our current situation with the pandemic. We feel fortunate that we are able to serve our students and participants during this time of need. Do you want to find out more about these unique learning opportunities for your students or business team? We want to travel with you into this yet to be discovered remote country. Together. Contact us, Sarah Goldman, sgoldman@ncobs.org, (828) 239-2160. Take Your Meetings to the Woods Add a little something extra to your next virtual meeting and show off your love of Outward Bound! We've got some cool new backgrounds you can download that showcase the amazing landscapes where we program. When someone asks you what's happening behind you on your screen, you can tell them all about the longest, most life-changing hike of your life as an Outward Bound alumni. From the Blog: Try the Kool-Aid By Leigh Luter Schell, April 30, 2020 Junior year of college, one of my housemates spent a semester on an Outward Bound course in Baja, Mexico. She came back hairy, tanned and happy in a confident “let it go” kind of way, no longer caught up in the trivial, needless, sweating the small stuff kinds of things often occupying the minds of college-aged kids. Was I curious about the source of this newly evident inner lightness? A little. Was I happy for her? Of course. Did I also want to go on an outdoor experiential course? Absolutely not. Fast-forward to 2014 when I attended a North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) fundraising breakfast in Charlotte with my then-boyfriend and NCOBS Board member. He knew I’d served on various non-profit boards and casually mentioned NCOBS was looking to diversify their Charlotte Advisory Board. Attending the breakfast began as a function of supporting something he was passionate about and learning more about an organization far off my radar. I didn’t envision my passions syncing with Outward Bound’s mission, or vice-versa. In listening to the presentations at the breakfast, there were several learnings that stood out to me:
However, what most impressed me, and remains an “a-ha”, lightning-bolt moment, was when a young woman spoke about her experience on a Charlotte Unity Project course. |