September  2016                                                                                     e Newsletter   Issue No. 24

Dear YES Community,

As our youth and families begin a new school year and the Fall Equinox officially marks the close of summer, we're celebrating some of the successes that Mother Nature, and a whole lot of our friends, helped us to achieve during our 2015-16 program year. We're grateful to you, the YES community, for supporting these successes, and hope you'll take a moment to read on - we've got photos, numbers, highlights, and some GoPro video footage for you to enjoy!

 

Throughout the coming year, keep an eye open for the Richmond Rangers, a group of YES campers ages 10-13, as they navigate and discover the flora and fauna inside their regional parks every other Saturday alongside naturalists from East Bay Regional Park District. If volunteering sounds good, check out the calendar for our fall Family Camp schedule or join us on one of several backpacking adventures.

 

Whatever you do, be sure to follow the example of our young people by getting outdoors and letting Mother Nature inspire you!

Sincerely,
Eric Aaholm, Executive Director
  

Youth Pathways: Updates from the Outdoors
YES's Youth Pathways celebrated new heights this year, literally  and figuratively. 

329 youth attended one of seven week-long, residential Summer Camps across the Bay Area and Northern California.

Our brand-new Camp Days programming provided  173 youth   with  fun,  skill-building trips to local regional parks during the academic year. Subsequently,  YES saw a 70% return rate for campers!  Attaining this high camper retention rate was a primary focus of our  new Camp Days programming, and we are celebrating the success of our pilot year. 

Meanwhile, the Camp-to-Community (C2C) teens spent an average of 16 days in nature throughout the year, with 8  of these teens completing a five-day backpacking trip and reaching 9,291 feet in Yosemite just a few months ago ! 

31 C2C teens held Camp leadership positions this summer,  an d five  were  hired as full-time Camp staff.

The teens were also engaged in a wide array of programming designed to empower and support  youth to navigate  their  surroundings, connect with positive role models, and make a productive impact in their community.  They filmed some   highlight footage -   click the video to come along for the ride ! 
Walk to Nature a Win for the Community

On August 27th, 345 Richmond residents and community partners came together at YES's annual Walk to Nature event in a day filled with comradery, food, outdoor physical activity, and fun. 118 participants accepted the challenge to walk the full two miles together from the Richmond Greenway to Miller Knox Regional Park, and 68% were first-timers! We walked for our health, we  walked to get outside in our local open spaces, and we walked to celebrate and deepen our ties as a community.

The day included yoga for all ages, Muay Thai kick boxing, Zumba in the park, the story-time tent, a bike rodeo, field games, and of course local and fresh-made tacos.  For more highlights from Walk to Nature 2016, click here!    
  











Many thanks to the following Walk to Nature 2016 partners and sponsors for their instrumental role in the magical day!
 
East Bay Regional Park District, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Arizmendi Bakery, Target,  Catahoula Coffee  Company, Richmond Police Department, City of Richmond, Contra Costa Health Services, WCCUSD, 
LifeLong Medical Care,  Weigh of Life, Bike East Bay, Richmond Main Street Initiative, Urban Tilth,  Tandem East Bay, 
West County Reads,  Eat Breathe Thrive, 24 Hour Fitness, Leftside Printing, Clif Bar,  El Chino Tacos, 
Road Runner Sports, Republic Services,  Storage-Pro, Costco, and Trader Joe's


A Record-Breaking Rock in the Redwoods

YES's third annual Rock in the Redwoods benefit concert at on September 10th was indeed a night to celebrate! 

Local band Little Marvin & the Gardeners' soulful, all-out performance pulled us out of our seats and onto the dance floor well past curfew.
  
YES youth participants took the stage to bring concert-goers along on the journey of a Richmond teen preparing for and experiencing his very first wilderness backpacking trip, with some important insights from his older peers and YES staff. 

Our guests responded with a record-breaking outpouring of support:  20 people fully sponsored one or more campers to attend Summer Camp , and with additional donations of all sizes from the assembled guests, the support of our event sponsors and volunteers, and proceeds from the event,  Rock in the Redwoods 2016 raised enough funds to provide 130 camperships for the year ahead!

YES would like to send our special gratitude to Todd Hodson and Little Marvin & the Gardeners for making Rock in the Redwoods possible, and to the local businesses which underwrote 100% of the event costs:
  



 

"C2C has influenced how I think about leadership because it is all about leading activities, being responsible, getting out of your comfort zone, and having fun at the same time. "  - C2C teen participant