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These are extraordinarily challenging times. We know that COVID-19 is a novel, unprecedented virus. Unfortunately, we are also severely struggling with an ugliness that is all too familiar—systemic racism.

For most of us, the Coronavirus, COVID-19 has derailed our normal routines and everyday lives. And it’s so easy to get caught up in the pandemonium, letting fear and anxiety take control. Your kids might even pick up on your feelings of worry and start to feel the same way.

Imagine campers sitting around the table, not a cell phone in sight, as they eat a meal together in the dining hall at Resident Camp. The sound of laughter and joking around rings throughout the cafeteria as kids plan for a skit night that evening. Or, imagine kids working together to set up basecamp on an Expedition. They sit around the campfire trading stories, making s'mores and playing card games before a day of mountain biking the next day. These moments may easily come to mind when you picture what overnight camp is like at Avid4 Adventure. What you can’t see though are the transformations that happen—the moments that become punctuation points in a child’s life leaving them forever changed as they continue their adventures after camp is over. These experiences are so meaningful because they represent the transformative power of the outdoors, friendships and strong role models. Below are two stories that highlight these very special experiences.

What does it mean to be creative? It means breaking rules to create something new and unique. Through exploration and discovery, we learn and see new things, causing our creativity to flourish. And what better place to explore and discover than the outdoors? The outdoors give us a release, allowing our imaginations to soar as we leave the four walls surrounding us and step into a lawless wilderness. The outdoors do not possess rules. Animals fight and frolic as they need and trees grow and sway—sometimes not even in tune with the basic laws of gravity. When we step outside to explore the world around us, we are physically and mentally free from the distractions of technology and today’s demanding world. As you step away from your daily life distractions, you can fully embrace the new and old sights, sounds, and smells around you to awaken your creative, right side of the brain.

The numbers quantifying plastic consumption are almost too massive to comprehend: