Our Partners: We work in partnership with other non-profits to provide the most effective programming possible for our LEADers.
By pooling our resources with those of other providers servicing the financially-challenged population, we maximize our own efforts as well as those of our partners. LEAD works in partnership with established camps across the country to provide an enriching wilderness program for our LEADers every summer. These collaborations help ensure that our LEADers receive all of the social, emotional, and academic services they need in order to meet the requirements of our programs.
Your children will come back changed, different once they’ve experienced everything these boys experience —Don Haley, Donor
Teton Science School, Kelly, Wyoming
LEADers and their mentors participate in a 10-day wilderness program at the Teton Science School for the first year of their program. Staff for this program is drawn from the Teton Science School, which has been offering programs in Grand Teton National Park since 1967. The Teton Science School uses the wild lands of Yellowstone National Park, Bridger Teton National Forest and the National Elk Refuge. They offer experiences in field based, experiential education that fosters an understanding and appreciation of the ecology and unique natural history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
It is an incredible opportunity for these kids. I wish they all could go. They learned that if there is something they are afraid of, it is OK, but not to let that stop them from trying new experiences. —YES Teacher
YES School, Houston, Texas
LEAD draws students from the YES School in Houston, Texas. The YES School student population comes from over 80 zip codes and 15 different school districts across the greater Houston area. Over 85% of these students qualify for the federal free/reduced breakfast and lunch program. YES provides a comprehensive educational program that prepares low-income students for success in a four-year college. The ultimate goal of the YES model is to create a critical mass of college educated students who can then return to Houston and bring real change to our under-served neighborhoods and communities.
This is such a great experience. This program gives my son opportunities that we are not able to give him. I have never been to Wyoming, or even on an airplane! —LEAD Parent
RippleEffect, Cow Island, Maine
In the summer of 2007 our LEADers traveled to Cow Island, a secluded 26 acre island off the coast of Maine. RippleEffect is a sea kayaking program which “promotes youth development through learning adventures in living classrooms."
RippleEffect believes that the disenchantment of many young people in our society is due to the increasing lack of connection with the natural systems operating in their local environment. RippleEffect strives to connect students to the world around them, and to see the natural world underlying even the most urban of environments.
Their goal is to immerse students in experiences that will stimulate all aspects of their being, challenge their creative problem solving abilities, and engage them in expeditions that will push their physical limits and comfort zone. After learning the tools and hard-skills needed to keep themselves and one another safe, our LEADers were challenged with everything from climatologically changes to navigating their pod (group) from point A to B with chart, compass, and parallel rules. They learned to cope with boat traffic and safety considerations, ecological and environmental considerations, and paddling techniques to increase their endurance.
RippleEffect focuses on issues of communication and group dynamics in hand with a kayaking and environmental curriculum.
"You see things and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were and I say 'Why not?'"
