Congratulations Volunteers!

September 7, 2023/in Volunteer

It has been an INCREDIBLE year of volunteering so far! Our Volunteer Appreciation Night is held at the end of every summer and these four individuals won some pretty prestigious awards. Volunteer Coordinator, Carly Steinauer, gave the following speeches:

Volunteer of the Year – Chao Xie!

“Each year, Waypoint Adventure honors a special volunteer who has gone above and beyond all others. This is a very special award that our staff takes very seriously and with a lot of consideration. We truly could not do what we do without support from our volunteers who care about creating more accessible and inclusive spaces! Our recipient this year is newer to our Waypoint community, and has truly dove into the Waypoint waters with enthusiasm. This person has tried just about every single Waypoint program type, even the ones that are not their typical preferred recreation. They have taken every opportunity on programs to learn about how we make our programs accessible, so that they can in turn create more accessible experiences in their personal life and work. They create a warm, energetic, and fun environment for participants, caregivers, fellow volunteers, and staff. With a WHOPPING 19 programs this year, the 2023 Waypoint volunteer of the year is Chao Xie!”

Hall of Fame Inductee – Deb Laufer

“Our volunteer of the year award is a tradition that has dated back to 2013, through people donating their time, knowledge, and passion to Waypoint programs dates back to before Waypoint truly existed. Our next honoree has been adventuring with us for well over a decade. Whether she’s riding her bike 25 miles to volunteer on a program, partnering with us to provide expert instruction on adaptive Nordic skiing, or going above and beyond to provide access for Waypoint participants to enjoy the Charles River in a Paddle Boston boat… Deb Laufer has been a consistent champion of inclusive adventure. When I asked our ED/ Co-Founder Dan Minnich how long Deb has been a Waypoint volunteer, he said pre-2010 (Waypoint’s founding year), but he wasn’t entirely sure- just that he couldn’t remember a time WITHOUT Deb Laufer. Deb is the kind of person who will spend all day with you on an adaptive ski program, and finally mention at the END of the day that she actually got ran over by a car on her bike that very morning. She’s the type of person who grabs TWO open cockpit soleras (aka the Cadillac boats) to haul up to the trailer in one go. While she is consistently in our most frequent volunteers each year, she has somehow avoided an official award and embarrassing display of gratitude… We are very excited to officially induct Deb Laufer into the Waypoint Hall of Fame!”

S.K.I. Award – Susan Roe

“This person braved the winter cold and snow the MOST this winter as a volunteer on our Winter Adventures at Weston Ski track programs. Though this season they perhaps saw more slush than actual snow, this volunteer brought sunshine to our participants’ lives even on the cloudiest of winter days. The Super Kool Individual award (or S.K.I) goes to Susan Roe!”

Rookie of the Year – Kevin Hegarty

This person spent lots of time on Walden Pond with us this summer… and the Charles river, and the Mystic, and the harbor, etc. He paddled with our youngest participants, our oldest participants, our fastest paddlers, and our slowest paddlers- a diverse range of people who all who have one thing in common: they loved their time on the water with Kevin. The Keel as a Kukumber award for most summer kayaking programs and our new Rookie of the Year goes to Kevin Hegarty!

Thank you to our team of volunteers who supported access and inclusion all year. You make it possible! A special shoutout to several individuals who came on 10+ programs this year:

Wayne Wang
Leo Laferriere
Tracilee Messina
Bill Boyes
Susan Roe
Mark Ostrander
Haley McKay
Deb Laufer
Kevin Hegarty

2020 Corporate Climbathon

February 9, 2020/in Special Events, Support, Uncategorized

Rock climbing, team building, beer, networking and raising money for a great organization!

Rally a team of coworkers (no prior climbing experience needed) and earn bragging rights as you compete against other local companies. Prizes awarded for the number of climbs completed, most money raised, and other fun competitions.

Post climb, party with us at Mighty Squirrel brewery next door for a celebration, networking, and winner gloating. Don’t worry, everyone wins, as each competitor will receive one ticket for a free brew!

All of your support makes transformational adventure programs accessible for people with disabilities!

WHEN? Thursday, March 5, 2020 | Climbing: 4:00 – 6:00 | After Party: 6:00 – 7:00

WHERE? Central Rock Gym, 411 Waverly Oaks Rd. Suite 105, Waltham, MA 02452

HOW MANY PEOPLE MAKE UP A TEAM? Teams can be made up of 4-10 individual climbers.

WHAT IF I’VE NEVER CLIMBED BEFORE? No problem! All skill-levels are welcome. We’ll have the necessary equipment as well as staff and volunteers to make sure you learn how to climb and get to the top of as many climbs as you want.

WHAT ABOUT THE “FUNDRAISING” PART? We are asking every climber to raise a minimum of $100 to support Waypoint Adventure transformational adventure-programs. We’ll even provide you with plenty of materials and videos that you can send to family and friends to raise support for your team. People in the past have raised funds on social media, GoFundMe, or sent physical letters to family/friends.

DOES YOUR COMPANY WANT TO SPONSOR? “Anchor Teams” buy in at $1000 and get your companies logo on marketing materials and post event updates.

HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Contact Miriam at mtalamini@waypointadventure.org or 781-325-7980.

Can’t Make it? DONATE to the event!

________________________________________

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

IAC Backpacking 2019

October 8, 2019/in Backpacking, Hiking, Latest News, Open Enrollment, Past Programs, Volunteer

Our annual Inclusive Adventure Club (IAC) backpacking trip was one of the best IAC programs to date. Our vision for this club is that all people regardless of ability have the opportunity to share in the costs and rewards of the experience. We recognize that the thrill of backpacking can be even more rewarding when done alongside a diverse community! So…

On September 21st, 15 adults and their packs filled with food, sleeping bags, tents, and the like, journeyed up to the White Mountains for a beautiful weekend of fall backpacking. The specific destination: Franconia Brook Campsite. S’more-making; star-gazing; bowl-licking; weird wraps (peanut butter, cheese, pepperoni, hummus, and Doritos); and games around the fire were just some of the many highlights that made for a magical trip.

Several people by the end of the weekend said that this trip made their year. It is rare when a large, new group of people can come together and work so effortlessly. Genuine adventure allows that to happen!

If you are interested in backpacking or in other inclusive adventure club adventures, please check out our IAC 2019 Flyer and sign up!

The photos speak for themselves:

New Partnership with Riverview School!

October 8, 2019/in Kayaking, Latest News

New partnership alert! We’re working with Riverview School now! Riverview is a private boarding/day school founded in 1957 on Cape Cod for students with complex learning, language, and cognitive disabilities. We’re working with the GROW Adventure Club – students in post-high school transition who are interested in adventure, challenges, and the outdoors. We’re thrilled by this new partnership and a new place to run programs on the Cape!

Four big adventures are planned for this school year with the goals of challenging students with new and exciting adventures, and also opening up places and opportunities they can come back to in their local community to experience again! Our kick-off to the series was this evening kayaking program, but we’re also planning a winter hiking-weekend, an outdoor rock-climbing program, and a summer camping/kayaking weekend! Check out our sunset paddle on Wequaquet Lake in Barnstable!

We were impressed by the teamwork and care for each other this community demonstrated. One pair in particular made huge strides. When they were having a lot of trouble steering their boat, they became so frustrated that they just stopped paddling all-together. The rest of the group stopped too and offered tips and advice! This pair listened well and got to calm down, and then slowly but surely, they began to keep their boat straight and work as a team without getting frustrated with each other!

On the way back to shore, one of the students said, “This was harder than I thought it was going to be and my shoulders are pretty tired, but I feel great about what I did and that we were finally able to keep the boat straight!” We love the grit this team displayed and we can’t wait to see this team grow through more “first-time” challenges and exciting adventures! Stay tuned for our Winter Hiking Weekend!

Thank you again to Riverview for allowing us to work with your students and the Town of Barnstable for letting use Wequaquet Lake.

Wiffleball Cookout!

September 6, 2019/in Uncategorized

The inaugural Wiffle Ball / End of Summer Cookout was a smashing hit. Pun intended. There was face painting thanks to our resident-artist, Miriam, balloon animals thanks to our friend and former-clown, Steph, burgers and dogs grilled to perfection by chef master Dave, expert score-keeping by Jeff and Davis, photography by Bill, pitching by Timmy and Mike, and the fantastic volunteer efforts of so many others who helped and participated. What a hilarious, awesome night.

It was the Peduto Penguins vs the Bored Chair Falcons and there was literally a diving stop at home plate to leave it tied at 5-5. We went into an extra inning ending in a 1 run squeaker by the Penguins! The Peduto Penguins won the honor of having their team name etched into the coveted Golden Bat!

To end it all, Dan and Adam each got a pie to the face. Enjoy these awesome pics!

Friends & Family Climb-A-Thon!

August 29, 2019/in Fundraisers, Rock Climbing, Special Events, Support, Uncategorized, Upcoming Events, Volunteer

Looking for a fun afternoon of camaraderie, competition, exercise, and the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for Waypoint Adventure? COME BE A PART! Check out pictures from last year!

WHEN? Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 1-4pm

WHERE? Central Rock Gym, 74 Acton St, Watertown MA 02472

WHAT IS IT? An opportunity to gather a group of friends to go indoor rock climbing AND raise awareness and revenue for Waypoint Adventure.

HOW MANY PEOPLE MAKE UP A TEAM? Teams can be made up of 2-10 individual climbers.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A TEAM? No worries! We will be organizing teams of individual Waypoint supporters just like you!

WHAT IF I’VE NEVER CLIMBED BEFORE? No problem! All ages and all skill-levels are welcome. We’ll have the necessary equipment and plenty of extra belayers around to make sure you get to the top of as many climbs as you want.

WHAT ABOUT THE “FUNDRAISING” PART? We are asking every climber to raise a minimum of $100 to support Waypoint Adventure transformational adventure-programs. We’ll even provide you with plenty of materials and videos that you can send to family and friends to raise support for your team.

CAN I VOLUNTEER TO HELP OUT WITH THE EVENT? We need 20 volunteers to help belay at the event, and 5 others to help with greeting, registration and raffle. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Steve, at sdastous@waypointadventure.org or 781-325-7980.

WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Contact Miriam at mtalamini@waypointadventure.org or 781-325-7980.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Can’t Make it?

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE EVENT!

Check out Pictures from Last Year!

End of Summer Cookout and Wiffle Ball

July 24, 2019/in Uncategorized

It’s the first annual Waypoint Adventure Family Cookout & Wiffle Ball Game! Come celebrate the Waypoint Community and join us at our End-of-Summer Cookout/Potluck and Wiffle/T-ball/Kick Ball game! The cookout used to just be a Volunteer thing, but this year we’re opening it up to EVERYONE and adding a Wiffle Ball game! Hang out with Waypoint participants, families, friends, and volunteers. Bring your own side-dish and lawn chairs. Waypoint will provide burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, drinks, desserts, tables, and entertainment.

When you register at the link below, you’ll tell us how you’d like to participate in the Wiffle Ball game: As a player, spectator, cheerleader, coach, scorekeeper, or sponsor.

WHEN? Thursday, September 5th from 5:30-8:30pm

WHERE? 453 Concord Ave, Lexington, MA 02421. This is the Waypoint Adventure Headquarters on the campus of Cotting School. We’ll use the Cotting School’s turf field for our Wiffle Ball game and adjacent patio for grilling and eating. There is plenty of parking.

WHO? Waypoint Adventure participants, friends, family members, and volunteers. All ages!

WHAT TO BRING: All your friends! It’s one big community-building day! Please also bring a side dish for yourself (a salad, chips, etc) and a lawn chair. We will have some chairs, but not enough for everyone. PLEASE DON’T BRING: Alcoholic beverages or any pets.

SCHEDULE FOR THE EVENING:

5:30pm – Cookout and Summer Slideshow

6:30pm – Designation of Teams (Tell us you’re playing at the Register link)

6:45pm – The first Pitch!

After third inning – Volunteer of the Year presentation

After game – presentation of First Annual Wiffle Ball Trophy

8:30pm – Go Home.

Volunteer Training 2019

June 28, 2019/in Training, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Volunteer Training this year got an upgrade. Not only did we do our typical “soft skills” session Friday night and our “hard skills” kayaking session on Saturday, like we’ve done in the past, but this year, volunteers had the option of TENT CAMPING too at Camp Chickami in Wayland! We love how this Volunteer Community is always up for a grand adventure! It was an awesome weekend full of good questions, curiosity, positive risks, and learning about adaptive strategies among a supportive community.Our session on Friday night at the Waypoint office covered Disability Awareness and Sensitivity as well as our signature “CAP Sauce.” Volunteers got to hear about the three ingredients that go into every program to give it that Waypoint flavor. We had a cookout, watched a video, and got to dive in to important topics such as inclusion, language, statistics, etiquette, and those three key things: Community, Access, and Preparation.

Then the crew camped at Camp Chickami (thanks for letting us use your site, Camp Chickami friends!) and played a thrilling game of “Waypoint survivor.” You all know this fun night was dreamed up and designed by our very own Volunteer Coordinator Extraordinaire, Steve Dastous.

Lastly, on Saturday morning, we kayaked at Wayland Town Beach. We used task analysis techniques to teach 3 basic skills, (putting on a life jacket, getting in and out of the boat, and paddling), practiced transfers, got to use adaptive set-ups for seats and paddles, and practiced a t-rescue scenario. Volunteers got the basics of adaptive kayaking and walked away with a better understanding of their role on Kayaking programs in general. We couldn’t have had a more engaging group of volunteers and more perfect day to train. Thanks also to our new Trip Leader, Kelsey Gross for leading us! Check out pictures!

Friday night at Camp Chickami playing Waypoint Survivor.

It’s A Wrap! Somerville 2019

June 12, 2019/in Hiking, Kayaking, Past Programs, Rock Climbing, Ropes Course, Schools, Series

24 Programs! Our biggest partnership ever! What an awesome year it has been with the thriving Special Education Department of Somerville Public Schools. Thanks to a Cummings Foundation grant the Somerville SPED Department received and the tireless efforts of Wellness Coordinator and friend, Caitlin Kelly, Waypoint was BACK in Somerville for the 2018-2019 school year designing and facilitating quality adventure-education programs for 19 different classes across the district. Social-Emotional Learning was happening on these programs: students immersed in problem solving scenarios, supported by the process of learning and community, and given the right to take on challenging experiences and we saw it in action – the perfect recipe for character building come to life.

These programs were not just work for us. The buy-in from teachers and administrators made this series a joy to facilitate. We even had volunteers come out on one program and come back again and again and again because of how much fun they had just being a part of these days! Shoutout to Jim Bradley, Sylvana Weinstein, and some awesome repeat groups from Definitive Cares and The Shady Hill School. This community is vibrant and excelling because of your support!

You HAVE to peruse some of the pictures below. It felt like a family photo album putting these together and laughing about ridiculous things that happened on programs and awesome students, teachers, and volunteers we met along the way. Here are some snapshots from all of the programs we ran with Somerville during 2018-2019:

10/25/18 Ropes Course at Hale Reservation

11/14/18 Hike in the Middlesex Fells

12/19/18 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/9/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/11/19 Hike at Prospect Hill in Waltham

1/15/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/23/19 Hike at Ward Reservation in Andover

1/30/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

2/5/19 Hike at Ward Reservation in Andover

2/13/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

2/27/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

3/19/19 Hike at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover

3/27/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

3/28/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

4/2/19 Outdoor Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond in Newton

4/10/19 Hike at Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield

4/24/19 Hike at Lynn Woods in Lynn

5/1/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

5/15/19 Hike at Lynn Woods in Lynn

5/16/19 Hike at Prospect Hill in Waltham

5/23/19 Outdoor Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond in Newton

5/24/19 Hike at Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield

5/29/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

6/5/19 Kayaking on the Charles River in Allston

We can’t thank our site partners from Central Rock Gym, Paddle Boston – Charles River Canoe and Kayak, Kennedy School Pool, and Massachusetts DCR enough for supporting this programming. THANK YOU!

And THANK YOU to all the students for participating, and the teachers and administrators that helped coordinate transportation, get forms filled out, opened the pool, and made sure adventure programming fit seamlessly into your curriculum. We believe it’s so important and it’s encouraging to see others agree. Looking forward to next year!

Winter Summit 2019

April 1, 2019/in Backpacking, Hiking, Latest News, Open Enrollment, Special Events

Waypoint Adventure conquered Mt. Willlard for our 8th annual Winter Summit Weekend!

Filled with anticipation and excitement, the group of 9 set out for the Highland Center in legendary Crawford Notch, NH. For some, it was another chance to summit Mt. Willard. For others, it was their first experience being up in the White Mountains in winter and hiking there with new friends.

The theme for this year was this: It Matters. Throughout the weekend, group members were given the challenge of reflecting on the decisions that they made and interactions that they had with each other to determine why they matter.

On the final night together, everyone shared their favorite moments from the trip. Some things that were said were: “This was the most challenging hike I have ever done, but I feel so proud of myself for doing it!”, “I needed this. This empowered me to get out into the world.”, and “This was excellent! (coming from a participant who uses limited speech)”.

After each person shared their favorite moment, they were given a cutout piece of the map from the trail they had just hiked. With a sharpie, each person wrote their favorite part on the back of this piece and had to figure out how their pieces came together to form the whole map. Without all the pieces, the map would have been incomplete. By the end, everyone realized that all the small things can make a huge difference in our lives. They Matter.

While the summit of Mt. Willard was truly a magical and special place, the weekend was made complete through the difficult journey up and down the mountain, eating way too much food, and hanging out with quality people in the lodge (not to mention the endless games of corn hole and ping-pong to boot!). Mt. Willard was just the icing on the cake.

But don’t take our word for it! Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Lodge Life:

Hike:

We are so grateful to have such a welcoming and loving community of people come out with us every year. 2019 was a very special year and we hope to continue the tradition in 2020. Thank you to AMC YOP for extra gear and the reservation at the Highland Center, Peter Fuller Vans (shout out to Jim Cubeta!) for the van and everyone else who made this all possible.

Tag Archive for: volunteering