Volunteer Training 2016

/in , , ,

From EPIC‘s Ableism Training on Friday night at Central Rock to the docks at Wayland Town Beach on Saturday, Waypoint volunteers surprised us again. This community of adventure-learning enthusiasts is sharp, intentional, passionate, and FUN! Engaging in “real talk” disability topics, playing Human Bingo, getting in and out of boats, and paddling Lake Cochituate was all a blast with this group. Thank you to everyone who came out and for the work behind the scenes that made this possible! Thank you Central Rock Watertown, Mary Snow, Jessica Brodie, and the Town of Wayland. If you couldn’t make Volunteer Training, you can still volunteer! Visit www.waypointadventure.org/volunteering to check out our calendar and email Julia to sign up.

2016-06-10 19.14.32 2016-06-10 19.26.07IMG_3099 2016-06-11 09.55.40IMG_3104IMG_31102016-06-11 11.26.44 2016-06-11 11.36.08 2016-06-11 12.57.05 IMG_3105 IMG_3110 IMG_3111

Community Connections

/in , ,

Great things are happening at Newton North High School’s Community Connections program. Teachers and staff are pushing for opportunities for their students and reaching out to community members like Village Bank to help sponsor a program like today. Thank you Village Bank for helping make this happen! Many discovered challenges like getting into a kayak and trusting your friends to hold it steady or tipping it over to do a “wet exit!” Yet all of these new experiences are opportunities to experience learning when given enough support. We are excited about the growth in these students just over a short period of time and love working with the Newton North team. One teacher said, “It was a pleasure to see each of our students shine in their own way.”

DSC_0805 DSC_0847 DSC_0858 DSC_6054

Blue Hills Hike with TILL Springboard

/in , ,

TILL Springboard‘s adult program is all about discovering potential and finding your community. A strong community is forming as this group has been, and will be, participating in 7 monthly adventures throughout the winter, spring and summer of 2016.

The support found in a group of people that have the same goal – to hike to the top of Rattlesnake Hill – defined the day. We have loved facilitating these adventures and can’t wait for our upcoming kayaking program! A HUGE thank you goes out to Commonwealth Financial Group for their support of this program.

Photo May 21, 11 41 18 AM

Photo May 21, 11 54 03 AM (1) Photo May 21, 12 37 14 PM

Teambuilding at Mario Umana Academy

/in ,

teambuilding at mario umana
FUN is the best word to describe the teambuilding series we did with this class from Mario Umana Academy! Through games and challenging activities, we practiced having fun by being safe, responsible, and respectful. We chased balls, played zookeeper, and created a circle of fun including examples of staying safe, doing our part, and being a friend. These kids’ smiles and enthusiastic attitudes were contagious!

Waypoint received a grant!

/in , , , ,

foundation metrowest
We are honored to have been chosen as a recipient of this grant! A big THANK YOU to the students from the Middlesex School and to the Foundation for MetroWest for supporting our programs and development.

Rock Climbing with The Kennedy School

/in , ,
IMG_1070IMG_3269
At Central Rock in Watertown, seven middle-school students were on the walls, yet one girl who had difficulty balancing due to her cerebral palsy didn’t have permission from home to climb. She helped belay for her classmates and cheered them on all day eagerly asking teachers every few minutes if home had called yet. Finally, after every student was done climbing, Kara got the call and suited up to try. Our goal for the day had been teamwork and her team rose to the occasion when she needed them the most. Through tears of nervousness, Kara climbed while her teammates encouraged!
“She was a good team member by showing us what she could do,” said one student in our closing circle.
For Kara and many of her classmates, the moment of overcoming fear and taking on a challenge will serve as a reminder of what she is capable of!

IMG_3291

Somerville Public School Adventure

/in ,

somerville reservation hike
Can’t get enough of these Somerville Public School adventures. Each class comes eager to step onto the trails and get fully immersed in the process of adventure-learning. This class from the Winter Hill school made a Team Promise and discovered the benefits of helping each other and sticking to the agreement in order to take on the challenge of a hike. Thanks to all the teachers, funders, and volunteers that make these adventures with SPS possible!

Rock Climbing with Perkins Camp Abilities

/in , ,

loss of sight is not loss of vision

Believe you can achieve! At Perkins School for the Blind, Camp Abilities’ motto this year is all about taking on challenges and BELIEVING you can overcome! We’re thankful that we got to climb with these stellar groups! It was awesome to see how challenging ourselves and encouraging one another can help us believe that we can achieve! Check out last year’s Camp Abilities video to get a feel for what these nights are like: http://www.perkins.org/get-involved/events/camp-abilities

Rock Climbing with TILL

/in , ,

woman rock climbing
What an awesome sense of community we had on this beautiful, sunny, Saturday morning with a group of hard-working and enthusiastic adults from TILL, Inc.! They showed their grit as they conquered climbs and applauded one another with witty puns and cheers, embodying our goals of challenge and support. Some participants brand new to climbing even impressed themselves with their fortitude and perseverance! Getting ready for more adventures with TILL Springboard and the continuation of this impactful series!