Check Out Our Rebranding Reveal!

Last night was our Birthday Fiesta and, while we’re still crunching numbers, we though we would share our new logo and website with those who may not have been able to attend. In order to create our new site and simplified logo, we were able to collaborate with the Ensemble Group. They were so helpful and made the process very easy for us.

We invite you to Like our page on Facebook, Follow us on Instagram, and share our new look with friends! We are very excited about Youth Odyssey’s future going forward and hope you all are too!

“I like Youth Odyssey because through games and fun exercises, I learn teamwork, trust, leadership, and other important life skills. And in addition to learning about the skills, we go to the ropes course and on camping trips so we have a chance to use and practice these skills in a real-world setting”
– 15 year old Youth Leader

Get Involved, Volunteer

2017 is filling up fast with continued programs, new programs, more summer camps, more ropes courses, and more camping trips. We couldn’t be happier at the success we’ve been having recently and plan to continue this trend for quite some time. Luckily you don’t have to feel left out because with this expanded reach there are more opportunities for you to get involved and donate. I don’t mean monetary donations (though we happily accept those) I mean donating your time!

Youth Odyssey is always looking for volunteers to assist us with all the fun activities and programs we have going on. Potential volunteers will sit down with Youth Odyssey and discuss their interests and passions. That way, when you volunteer with us, you will be placed exactly where you want to be. Here are some of the areas where you can volunteer:

• Assisting in program sessions
• Inspire youth on our ropes course
• Join our Board of Directors
• Involve yourself in one of our committees (advisory, events, financial)
• Helping out at summer camps
• Being available for day long kayak or canoe trips
• Hike and enjoy nature on our weekend long camping trips
• Grant writing
• Accompanying us to local festivals where we have interactive booths
• Attending our week long Thanksgiving/Spring Break trips with youth leaders

Honestly there are many other ways for you to volunteer, but if I were to write them all down it’d be quite the list. You don’t have to have a ton of camping or outdoor experience, we can teach you all of that. What we want is for you to have a love for the outdoors and working with youth in order to help them better themselves. As long as you have fun, the youth will too.

Youth Odyssey trains our volunteers in how the ropes course is operated, how we run our programs and what a typical camping trip should look like. Once you fill out a volunteer application and it is reviewed, we will schedule a sit down with you to give you more information on what is expected of you. As long as we are on the same page, you are at least 18 years old, and you pass a background check, you can be a volunteer.

When you volunteer with Youth Odyssey, we guarantee a great time interacting with youth in a fun learning environment and fun trips all over the Texas Hill Country (and out of state on our longer trips). If this sounds like something you may be interested in then apply to be a Youth Odyssey Volunteer today! Ask around your schools or businesses and see if anyone else may be interested to volunteering too, the more the merrier! Help us make a difference in the lives of the youth of the Coastal Bend!

Day of Giving: Early Donations Can Be Scheduled Today!

November 15th is just a week away and that means that YOU can pre-schedule your donations  for the Coastal Bend Day of Giving this week! The process is easy.  However, if you aren’t sure how to go about scheduling your donations we are here to help you.  You can either donate directly on the organizations page on the Day of Giving website or you can donate through personal campaigns on the Day of Giving website, via the search bar. Here’s how to donate:

• Create an account at www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org
  • If you have given on to the Coastal Bend Day of Giving in the past then your login will still be the same as previous years and there is no need to create another account
• Use the search bar to find the organization you would like to support (i.e. Youth Odyssey)
• Click the “Donate Now” button on their profile page and follow the instructions further

IF YOU ARE DONATING THROUGH A PERSONAL CAMPAIGN:

• You still must create an account on www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org (unless you already have one)
• Click the “SEARCH FOR YOUR NONPROFIT”  button on the main webpage (next to the search bar)
• On the right side, mid screen are two buttons “Nonprofits” and “Campaigns,” click campaigns
• On the “Campaigns” page you can either:
  • scroll to find the campaign you’re looking for OR
  • You can type in the name of the campaign in the search bar
• Click the campaign you wish to support
• On that campaigners page click the “Donate” button and follow the instructions the website provides you

It’s just that easy! By scheduling your donations you are allowing yourself the freedom of not having to stress over getting your donation in on the 15th of November. Everyone who schedules a donation from November 6-14 will all have their donations processed on the Nov 15th Day of Giving and that allows your donations to be doubled!

If you aren’t sure how much to donate, the minimum donation is $10 and can go all the way up to thousands. Here is a breakdown of how your donations can help our organization and the at-risk youth in the coastal bend area:

• $10 = Portable Team Challenges for an entire program session
• $25 = A Day trip to go kayaking, canoeing or on a ropes course
• $250 = Sending a kid on a weekend camping trip

Keeping in mind that each donation received during early scheduled donations and on November 15th will be DOUBLED so that means your donations will have twice the impact!

Spread the word, log on to www.coastalbenddayofgiving.org, and donate to Youth Odyssey today!! Help us continue to change the lives of the youth in the coastal bend area! Thank You!

What is a Youth Odyssey Mentor and How to Become One

Throughout our blogs and Facebook posts we mention our youth mentors; we are usually thanking them for being great and helping us and the community. It occurred to me that there has never been a blog or post that has discussed Youth Odyssey’s mentor program in great depth; how does a youth become a mentor, what that title means, the process. Until now.

Youth Odyssey created the youth mentor program in April 2008. At the time, there was a group of 7th and 8th graders that had progressed so far in the program that Youth Odyssey wanted to keep them involved and active. A Youth Board was created to discuss what steps could be taken to challenge them further; and they decided that a service project would be a fun way to get more involved. While we were researching a service project with the City of Corpus Christi, Texas Parks and Wildlife added a “service project section” in their Community Outdoor – Outreach Program (CO-OP) grant application.  This would give Youth Odyssey funding for an outdoor service project. The timing worked out perfectly and the Youth Board had their opportunity to give back!  They chose to help beautify Blucher Park, a migratory birding park.

Here we are eight years later and Youth Odyssey’s  youth mentors are still serving at Blucher Park every other month!  Services that they provide to the park and it’s wildlife residents are: picking up trash, creating and maintaining trails, invasive species removal, planting of native species, painting the footbridge, and so much more. Having the youth volunteer their time and energy to the park is extremely rewarding for Youth Odyssey and the mentors love it too, which is even better. Our City and National Audubon Society partners always have something planned for us and we are always eager to help.

The Blucher Park clean up is just one aspect of Youth Odyssey’s mentor program. Before a youth even gets to that point there are a few pre-requisites that need to be met. In a very loose sense, any one of our Youth Odyssey participants can become a mentor but it isn’t a title we just throw around and offer to everyone in our programs (that would be a bit chaotic). In order for someone to become a mentor they are first awarded the title of Mentor-in-Training. This title is given once a youth has:

1. Participated in Youth Odyssey’s general programming for at least two years
2. Has had consistent attendance and behavior
3. Has demonstrated growth with our program, and
4. Has evolved into taking on more of a leadership role during the programs

Far right: a mentor helping run a teambuilding activity.

When we see these in a participant we start dropping the “m” word, “have you ever thought about becoming a mentor? do you know about our mentor program?” Usually, once you mention it, those who are interested jump right on it and get excited about the prospect of becoming a mentor and getting to do even more with Youth Odyssey.

 

At this point we do a sit down and discuss what the role of a mentor entails:

“As a mentor and mentor in training you are to be a role model for the youth and an extension of the facilitators. From your experience with us you know how our programming works and you understand what is and is not acceptable Youth Odyssey behavior. So as a mentor, if you see or hear anything that you know to be going against what Youth Odyssey is about, then speak up and either say something to those involved and then let a facilitator know what happened or come to a facilitator and discuss the options of what to do in that situation.”

Our mentors helping at Earth Day-Bay Day 2016

The list goes on but that’s a general example on how it works. Once the potential new mentor understands what their role would be in Youth Odyssey, we ask if that is a role they are willing to take on at this time. Most say yes; but some are nervous about the new level of responsibility and want to hold off to see if they are really ready (challenge by choice). To those who want to wait we continue to encourage them to become a mentor as their program-time with us continues.  We ask again towards the end of their program to see if they feel they want to tackle the mentorship, now that they have had time to think about it more. To those who say yes, we keep them posted on when we are having mentor events, trainings and trips.

There are so many amazing opportunities and advantages to our mentor program that I had to cut this blog in half, so I didn’t overwhelm our readers. This was a very introductory post about how to become a mentor and how they can grow in Youth Odyssey through their experiences in the mentor program. I will go more in depth into what being a mentor entails in next weeks blog so please stay tuned and check it out because the work our mentors do in amazing and ever so appreciated!

Fresh Fun at the Farmer’s Market

Every Wednesday the Corpus Christi Art Center hosts the Downtown Farmer’s Market where you can find everything from a freshly prepared chef’s meal to pollen in a jar. They have a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, eggs, and bread. The family friendly environment and laid back vibe make it a great place to stop in and browse what your community has to offer.

Admittedly, I hadn’t experienced the market until we helped out during our Living Local Camp this summer and it was awesome! The people are great and knowledgeable if you have any questions. During the market, the Art Center is open and you can stroll inside and see what is on exhibit and grab a drink as you walk around the market. There is also live music and food trucks outside if you want to just sit back and relax by the bay with some locally cooked dishes with locally sourced produce.

In case you are wondering why I am bringing up the Downtown Farmer’s Market, Youth Odyssey has partnered with the farmer’s market by making a once monthly commitment to host a craft table at the market for kids and those who are kids at heart. The crafts change from month to month. Last month we the kids made super hero masks; this month the kids created adorable plate fishes. We are scheduled to be at the famer’s market with crafts in hand the second Wednesday of each month. If you follow our Facebook page, we update it with upcoming events and information frequently. We enjoy the farmer’s market and we want you to be able to as well, even if it means dropping off your little one with us for a few minutes while you go in search of the perfectly priced produce.

If you are concerned about the heat, the farmer’s market has a great bayside breeze that comes through and plenty of shade to get out of the elements. Come and check it out for yourself and I promise you won’t be disappointed!

 

Summer Camp Season is Well Underway!

Youth Odyssey has finished it’s first summer camp of the season, our Nueces Delta Camp. Each day focused on a different activity with the goal of “opening minds and expanding horizons”.  This was achieved through numerous outdoor adventures that drew individual participants into a supportive, cohesive team.

The first day consisted of getting-to-know-you games, setting up camp, and gathering firewood. Some got a little ambitious but instead of giving up and leaving wood behind, they chose to take it nice and slow; and made it back to camp, firewood in hand. The mosquitoes came out in full force once the sun went down but we had plenty of bug spray and an awesome screened in shelter that we could retreat to in the evening so we could discuss the day and play games.

The first big group activity that we did was on day two of camp where we went to the ropes course. We were able to see how well the group worked together as they encouraged each other and to push themselves to try new things. There was thunder in the area that we had to wait out but once it was gone we took on the course in full force. The campers worked amazingly as a team, which revealed itself during the second half of the day when we were doing our high elements. One situation in particular made all of the facilitators say “this is why we do this.” There was a girl who got to the top of a pole and needed to go across a 20 foot wire to get to the zip line. When she got to the top of the pole, she starting saying she was done and couldn’t do it and it was obvious she was starting to get scared. One of the facilitators called out her name to refocused her attention.  Then they did some breathing exercises, and coached her on how to get across. She started moving at a slow and calculated pace towards the zip line area. The group members that were below ran to get to where she could see them and started encouraging her, letting her know how great she was doing. When she made it across the wire everyone let out a triumphant “WOOHOO!” She said she was proud of herself and was glad she pushed through to finish it. It was the perfect example of what we want the kids to get out of our programs; confidence, teamwork, support, and encouragement. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

After an obviously pretty intense day, we decided that the kids should kick back and relax with a day at the beach. They were all playing and working together doing different activities. Some were burying each other in the sand, others were in the water with the boogie boards and some were building sand castles and just enjoying the day. There were a lot of laughs,fun and, thankfully, not a lot of bad sunburns. Especially considering that the next day were going to be out in the sun for our kayak day.

For our kayaking day, the usually windy (but not today) Labonte Boat Launch, was still and hot. The heat index said it was 110 degrees! So we made sure that the kids covered up with sunscreen and had access to plenty of water. The basics of kayaking were covered and the kids listened well. Staff decided who was in each kayak with the goal of getting the kids to interact with campers other than their tent-mates, it worked out well. Our destination on the trip was to go up to the dam and have lunch and then head back. Due to the lack of a breeze and the heat we decided to add in a bit of swimming after lunch so the kids could cool down. When our kayaking adventure was over we loaded up and headed back to the Delta where the kids all voted to take showers to rinse off the river and to cool down. Luckily, when we returned to camp, there was a welcome breeze blowing through that made the rest of the day more pleasant.

Our last real adventure with camp was to go to the Odem pool and learn about and experience SCUBA Diving 101. We had an amazing board member, James Gourley, who shared important diving information like how the gear works, what the hand signals are, and some tips for being underwater (rule #1 is “just keep breathing, never hold your breath”). After the initial introductions it was time for the kids to put on the gear and get underwater. We had to split them into 2 groups and one half went straight into the SCUBA portion, the other half got to play around in the pool with the slides, get  in on some freeze tag action, and play on the lily pads until it was their turn to get into the gear. All of the kids really enjoyed the day and the pool and kept taking about it throughout the rest of the day. When we got to camp we had some free time and chose to fill it playing silly games and journaling about the day.

After a week of crazy on the go fun, we ended camp with a cookout graduation where the kids were awarded a certificate for their participation in our Youth Odyssey Nueces Delta Adventure Camp and a diving certificate for their SCUBA day. All participants in our camp also received personalized awards based on their behavior and interests during our camp. Some of the awards were the friendship award, explorer award, and hollow leg award (they could eat insane amounts of food). We chose to share brief stories of our adventures throughout the week in the form of a silly skit that the kids put together, and it was a hit. When the fun was over, the kids started to trickle out and say their goodbyes and then it was our turn to pack it in and recoup from the week because our second summer camp, Living Local, was to start on the coming Tuesday which you all will hear about in next weeks blog!

We had a blast!  And we hope you enjoyed our fun recap and all the pictures we took.

 

 

Our Youth Give Back!

In 2008, our youth-mentors were looking for a way to “give back to the community that has given them so much (community support to keep our programs free for families)”. Thus, a partnership with the City of Corpus Christi Parks & Recreation and the Audubon Society was established and Youth Odyssey adopted Blucher Park. Here’s a link to an article the CallerTimes did on our project back in the early days.

Blucher Park was chosen because it’s a critical stop-over for migrating birds who pass through the area; and people from all over the world come to Corpus Christi to see them. Youth Odyssey’s mentor program holds bi-monthly workdays where we help remove invasive species, pick up trash, create and mulch trails, beautify, remove invasive species, plant native species, learn about the flora and fauna, and whatever else the park needs.

Blucher Park has had many volunteer groups offering assistance and Richard Thompson, past City employee, mentioned that he often “had to send his staff to go and ‘fix’ what other volunteer groups have done… This is not the case with Youth Odyssey. They are a thorough and hardworking bunch that produce quality work”.

Karen Smith of the Audubon Society now oversees the mentor project and “is constantly impressed of how hard the youth work and how much they get done every time they come out to the park.”

The mentors themselves really enjoy going to the park. It gives them a chance to make their mark in Corpus Christi, spend day outside, and hang out with each other.  Youth Odyssey is blessed to have such a wonderful bunch of youth who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. As a non-profit, we value all of our partnerships here in the Coastal Bend.

“This is one way that I can give back to the people who have sent me to camp year after year.  It’s the least I can do to say thank you!” – youth mentor

Call to Action: Volunteers Needed

As one can imagine, our Youth Odyssey staff are pretty busy year-round.  The demand for our programs continues to grow each year.  You may have heard the phrase, “Volunteers are the lifeblood of a non-profit”.  This is absolutely correct!

Volunteers bring fresh perspectives, life experiences, and energy.  They lend an extra set of eyes and become role models for our participants.  Here’s a list of front-line and behind-the-scenes activities that our volunteers do:

• Two-hour teambuilding sessions
• Day trips to the Ropes Course
• Day trips kayaking
• Weekend and  week-long camping trips
• Ambassadors helping spread our mission
• Writing grants to help ensure funding
• Fundraisers throughout the year
• Organizing week long summer camps/retreats
• Helping clean Blucher Park
• Assisting with mail-outs
• Social media marketing
• Promotional development

Every year we have more and more opportunities to share our programs with different groups and make new connections within the community. As the demand for our style of programming grows, we as an organization continue to grow with it. Currently, we service more sites in Corpus Christi than ever before but we still have to spread ourselves a bit thin to accommodate our growth.

That’s where you guys come it! Youth Odyssey is always looking for energetic and outdoorsy individuals who are willing to give of their time and efforts to help us be the best we can be.

As a volunteer, you will be able to join in any activity that Youth Odyssey has going on. If you like to camp, you can come on camping trips. If you love ropes courses or want to learn more about rock climbing, come to a ropes course. If you want to get more experience working with kids and witnessing those ‘lightbulb’ moments, come to our programs and help out there. If you think we’re great and want to help us with fundraising, volunteer at our annual fundraisers. There’s tons of things that we’d love your help with! You can always refer a friend or a volunteer club or organization that might need volunteer hours.

The process is pretty simple if you are interested in volunteering to some extent. The main requirement is that the applicant be a minimum of 18 years old. There is an application that needs to be filled out and returned. Once Youth Odyssey receives the application, we will set up a time to talk and meet with the prospective volunteer. At the meeting we will go over ever aspect of volunteering to see which Youth Odyssey  activity(s) interests you the most. That way we can pair you with your passion. After the meeting, there’s a background check and fingerprinting process to go through. Once cleared, you’re good to go! You would then receive a schedule with volunteer opportunities listed and you can sign up for any activity or event that you’d like.

Youth Odyssey is excited about the prospect of gaining, not just more volunteers, but more Youth Odyssey Ambassadors to spread the word about our mission. So let’s get started!

 

Blast From the Past: Part 1

Youth Odyssey founder, Kim Cox, hiking on Mt. Rainier  circa 1990’s

Youth Odyssey was founded in 1997 and has been inspiring youth and changing lives ever since. We recently came across a Youth Odyssey member who was active in the program 17 years ago. As one can imagine, this is pretty exciting news for us, so we asked if we could interview him for our blog. Just to make things more interesting, we also asked the founder of Youth Odyssey (and mentor to the young man), Kim Cox, to join us (to share some fun tales of the good old days). They both said yes and a pretty awesome reunion ensued.

Before I even had a chance to ask a question, Chad, our former Youth Odyssey member, started talking about the first trip he went on with Kim and Youth Odyssey where they went to Kim’s ranch for Thanksgiving break. Chad mentioned how “it was the first time he had ever spent a holiday away from his family.” When they got there, someone had caught a wild boar in a trap and they ended up having it for dinner. According to Chad, “to this day, that is the best set of ribs [he’d] ever eaten.” Both Chad and Kim reflected on the experience and brought up another player in the Youth Odyssey scene back then, Amiel, who was, apparently, the best camp chef and could make anything taste amazing. That being said, Kim and Chad noted that “everything tastes better in the woods while sitting around a fire.” (I’m inclined to agree).

Chad circa 2000 enjoying the sea breeze

Obviously, over the span of 20 years things are bound to change and I was curious as to the differences between the modern day Youth Odyssey versus the original Youth Odyssey. Immediately Kim notes that “it’s much bigger now and we didn’t have the [school and recreation center] programs.” Since kids are refereed by schools and recreation centers now, I wanted to know how they used to recruit participants. Kim looks at Chad and simply asks, “how did we get you guys to participate?” After thinking for a second, and trying to remember as well, Chad recalls he was part of a summer youth work program helping out coaches and a representative came to the rec.center. He was asked by the coaches if he wanted to be a part of the Youth Odyssey program. At the time of the invite they “were recruiting for a Big Bend trip to help inner city kids.” Chad said he was interested, his mother okayed it and 2-3 weeks later everyone met up  at the old  Tinsletown (Starplex Movie Theater) parking lot at 5 am. From there, everyone packed up the van and they were on their way. On that trip there were 10 kids and 5 adults (which isn’t very different from the numbers we have today for trips). Chad remembers how, on the Big Bend trip, they were located on the canyon floor in between two huge cliffs in the Chisos Basin where it would get “cold very quickly at night and heat up a ton during the day.” Chad still has vivid memories of the backpacking hikes they took there that were “brutal and sweaty but still really cool because of everything they got to see and do”. Clearly, the trip didn’t deter him from continuing with Youth Odyssey since he stayed with it for three more years.

Kim in Tikal at an ancient Aztec village

During those three years they had quite a few adventures. Chad and Kim recalled trips to Enchanted Rock/Ladybird Johnson State Park, Kim’s ranch and trips to Goliad. They would actually assist in archaeological digs at Goliad! At the time, Kim was an archaeologist who was working on a few sites in Goliad and asked the other archaeologists if they could use some extra help. Chad mentioned how they  had areas blocked off and he and the other participants would sift through the sand and find arrowheads and beads and pieces of pottery. Kim was and is still active with a few archaeological digs in Belize and he opened the opportunity up to Youth Odyssey participants. Unfortunately, Chad didn’t receive his passport until the day they were all scheduled to leave for Belize and he had to sit that one out (Chad is still really annoyed that he missed it). Youth Odyssey, as an organization, hasn’t had any out-of-country travel opportunities in a while because we have chosen to focus on the Coastal Bend area and  servicing more youth. As we continue to grow, these are opportunities that may reemerge and be open to our youth and mentors.

Just a small side note, the main reason for the changes in how Youth Odyssey works now versus then is that, the ways to reach kids has changed. 20 years ago we could find just any kid who was interested in Youth Odyssey and a week later they could be heading with us for a week long trip. Nowadays, parents are less likely to be okay with that. We focus more on creating relationships, not only with the youth, but with their families as well. Now that we have a chance to work with the kids on a consistent basis it allows us to gauge our approach and see how our programs are effecting them. Because we focus more on the Coastal Bend area, we have cultivated relationships with other organizations and businesses that have given us the means to expand our reach. The more youth we can engage, the more lives we are able to change.

The 35 foot Pamper Pole jump onto the trapeze bar

Though many things have changed since the beginning, one aspect of Youth Odyssey that hasn’t changed is our participation in ropes courses. Youth Odyssey has it’s own ropes course that we use for our programs as well as for private groups and companies who are interested in working on teamwork, communication, trust and problem solving. Chad was thinking back on how he used to enjoy going out to the ropes course but there was one obstacle that scared him the most, the Pamper Pole. The Pamper Pole is one of the high elements at the ropes course where you have to climb to the top of a telephone pole, stand on top of it and jump off onto a trapeze-like hanging structure. Kim, on the other hand, talked about an element that we no longer use that he called the Death Drop (it’s also called Big Swing) where an individual is harnessed in the back and pulled upwards into the air by their team and an instructor who would also have a rip cord that would be pulled, at which point the participant free falls and swings until slowing enough to be stopped and taken off the harness. Looking back on his ropes course experience, Chad mentioned how it probably helped him with his electrician job since he’d have to be up in the “cherry pickers and up poles all the time.”

Youth Odyssey member climbing “The Chimney” using the stem move at Kim’s ranch

 

Another aspect we still use is Kim’s ranch. We mostly use it with our Juvenile Justice Boot Camps but also use it for other programs. Once we started talking about the ranch a whole bunch of stories came out of the wood work. Chad talked about rappelling down cliff faces and cave entrances, making sure to note that the hardest part was getting over the edge. He recalls rappelling backwards, which is the traditional way where you are lowering yourself down in a seated position, and forwards, which is also called the Australian rappel where you are facing the ground as you are lowering yourself down. They would also go spelunking, cave exploring, in the multiple old mines on the ranch. Kim mentioned another climbing spot on the ranch where the kids could try doing stem moves, where you have your hands and feet pressing outward on either side of you as you push against a rock face and use that resistance to climb up a narrow opening. (Kim is also and experienced rock and mountain climber).

Speaking of rock climbing, I’m going to leave you with a bit of a cliff hanger. This reunion was so full of stories and fun times that I can’t fit them all into one blog. This is Part 1 of 2, to an even more interesting history lesson and funny quips of the way things were run 17 years ago. Including more crazy stories of the goings on at Kim’s ranch.

Stay tuned because the second and final half of this interview will be posted this coming Tuesday, April 26th!

Earth Day-Bay Day 2016 Rocked!

This past Saturday, April 9th, Youth Odyssey participated in the 17th annual Earth Day-Bay Day celebration at Heritage Park. Earth Day-Bay Day is an event put on by the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation to educate the public about the bays, estuaries, other native habitats, and the importance of clean air, water and a clean environment. To help educate the guests there were many fun exhibits. Some included the Gladys Porter Zoo, Sky Kings Falconry,  Catch and Release Fishing Tank, Youth Odyssey’s rock climbing wall, Texas Coastal Expo touch tank, and pet adoptions/registrations.

The purpose of Earth Day Bay Day is to motivate individuals to become environmentally proactive in their day-to-day lives while encouraging the protection of native habitats and promoting low-to no-impact outdoor activities such as kayaking, windsurfing, birding, fly-fishing, gardening and hiking. That’s where Youth Odyssey comes in. Part of our programming schedule includes adventure challenges, which allow youth to experience the outdoors and use current conservation techniques and practices to reinforce the importance of preserving natural lands. In addition to environmental practices, our adventure challenges help youth gain important life skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, not to mention self confidence, which is directly correlated with grades and behavior.

Because of our aligning missions, Youth Odyssey has been an active part of the Earth Day-Bay Day festivities for the past six years. Each year we bring out a portable rock wall for anyone who is interested in the challenge. Usually, only the kids will be the ones who climb the wall (but not always) which gives us a chance to discuss Youth Odyssey’s mission and promote our summer camps and programming to parents and friends.

Last year Earth Day-Bay Day fell on rainy, gloomy day and this year seemed to be headed in that direction as well. Luckily, the inclement weather subsided early on and the rest of the day was a breezy, sunny, coastal Saturday, which is perfect rock wall climbing weather. So perfect in fact that on more than one occasion we had a long line of excited participants. Knowing that the rock wall was usually a big hit, we made sure to have extra hands on deck to help harness and encourage our climbers as well as to maintain order. We put out a “bat signal” to all of our youth mentors and it didn’t take long to have a full-days worth of volunteers ready to go. In total we had seven mentors helping with the rock wall and discussing their experiences with the participants and their parents.

Thanks to the weather holding up and the help of our mentors, the 17th Annual Earth Day-Bay Day was a success in Youth Odyssey’s book. We are looking forward to next year already but, before that, we have our summer camps to be excited about so don’t forget to sign up today or inquire if you have questions! (The cutoff is May 31st).