For the Love of ... Challenge and Change

For me, one of the best things about working at VOBS, is getting to hear what VOBS means to YOU.

Your challenges, your successes...your words. We are inspired by your post-course stories of transformation. Canoeing, hiking, climbing, dogsledding - these experiences change your lives. We hear stories of grit, determination, compassion, collaboration and courage. You tell us about the good times and make us laugh, but when you tell us about how you overcame obstacles and faced down challenges, our hearts simply sing. We’ve been there, and yet every time you tell us your story, you take us right back to our own moment of transformation. Your stories move us to action.

That leads me to one of the second-best things about working at VOBS, getting to share what VOBS means to YOU. Recently, we received a testimony from a VOBS dogsledding alum, Billy Maines. Billy and his brigade of teens spent 8 days with the dogs out in the frozen BWCA. As soon as he came off course, Billy compiled a list of “Values to Live By.” Here’s one of my favorites:

“we can either make ourselves miserable, or we can make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same either way.”

We're making an Impact

Social Emotional Learning (SEL), over referred to as "character development," is at the heart of our programming. With the help of research partners like the Susan Crown Exchange, David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, and the University of Minnesota, we are able to measure and evaluate the impact of our programs.

In 2015, VOBS implemented a new student impact measurement tool that was created in consultation with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI). The tool was developed from a year of focus groups and data collection from families, participants, educators and nonprofit partners. At our VOBS Twin Cities Center (TCC), in St. Paul, our focus is on facilitating challenge and adventure learning for low-income Twin Cities youth. We partner with community organizations and schools to help youth develop strength of character and social-emotional skills through outdoor experiential education. Now, with a year of data collected, the CAREI survey tells a story of impressive impact. Four hundred sixty-four students (464) completed the survey, and the following eight areas showed the greatest shifts after youth engaged in VOBS programming:

Self-regulation and personal responsibility

- I know my actions have consequences. (72% always)

- I take responsibility for my actions. (53% always)

Empathy and teamwork

- I treat others with respect. (54% always)

- When I am working in a group, I make sure to do my part. (54% always)
- I can work with others to accomplish a task. (50% always)

Service and connections to the environment

- I have a role in making sure all people are treated fairly. (55% always)

- I have learned things I can do to take care of the environment. (53% always)
- I think I have a role to play in protecting nature. (50% always)

The youth story? Challenge changes lives, and by consequence, communities.

You're making a Difference

Thank you for being a part of a community that develops accomplished and compassionate people to make a positive difference in their lives, their communities and the world.

When you donate to the Voyageur Outward Bound School you are changing lives by providing students with unparalleled opportunities for personal growth, self-reliance, teamwork and compassion.

Your support is critical to helping VOBS provide “life-changing” expeditions to over 2,000 students every year. Donate today!