Dear friend,
Can you believe school starts this morning? Where did the summer go?
Thanks to you, 140 Take a Hike youth return to school this morning and over the coming weeks. They return to a safe and caring environment designed to help them succeed. Over the first few weeks, we focus on building relationships between youth and the adults in their classroom. These relationships are the foundation for increased attendance, improved social and emotional skills, and stronger mental health - ultimately leading them to graduation.
COVID-19 has changed everything except the essential parts of Take a Hike. Depending on which school district they're in, each Take a Hike location has slightly different safety measures in place. What remains the same is the deep relationships, morning circles, clinical counselling, spending time outside, and academics. Due to the success of the online counselling programs we developed over the spring and summer, we will continue using these programs to safely work with parents and youth, even when they can't make it to school.
Thank you for making Take a Hike possible for Avery, one of our grade 11 youth.
“Take a Hike has really come through for me. Just like in the classroom, in quarantine, the support has been amazing. There are constant check-ins, every time we go into class we check-in with our physical and mental state. We have mini groups every week, and we have a big group every week where we just talk about what's been going on through our heads and through our bodies. And it's just really, really supportive.” - Avery, grade 11
Hear from Avery directly and support more kids like her here.
It’s your generosity that makes Take a Hike possible for Avery and the other 140 youth we serve this year. Thank you for believing in them. Thank you for helping vulnerable youth change the trajectory of their lives.
Yours truly,
Gordon Matchett
CEO, Take a Hike Foundation
p.s. Next week, I’ll share with you how we’re modifying outdoor activities in response to COVID.
Follow along on our youths' journey to success...find us on Facebook & Instagram
Questions? Email info@takeahikefoundation.org or call 604-638-3385.
Take a Hike empowers vulnerable youth to believe in their potential and discover their own path to success, through a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. We engage youth in intensive and continuous clinical counselling, outdoor experiential learning, and community, and our public school district partners provide a high quality education. Our youth develop the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however they define it.
For more information on the Foundation and how your donation will be used please visit our website or view our 2018-2019 Yearbook.
