Young Women's Backpacking Adventure
Donation protected
Raise your hand if you have ever taken a day (or more!) to spend time in the great, vast outdoors. Keep your hand up if you loved that experience. Now, keep your hand up if that time felt empowering, healing, relaxing, and/or simply incredible! While I can’t survey the crowd, I imagine that many of you understand the wholly holy power of nature and time in the outdoors. My experiences in nature have been some of the most impactful and inspiring times in my life. I want, with your support, to extend this opportunity to 12 of my young women scholars this spring!
Every March, our school has a “Week Without Walls,” where teachers and community members lead week-long electives centered around a certain theme or activity. Students receive Leadership and/or P.E. credit, and get time to connect with other youth across grade-level. I am elated to plan my first Week Without Walls and take 12 high school girls backpacking in Big Sur! This will not be my first time in the backcountry with young people, but it will be my first time taking exclusively public school city youth, something I am honored to do. I view it as an essential act of extending opportunities and resources for self-connection, transformation, and community building to many young folks who have not had the economic opportunities to do so in this capacity.
Our itinerary is filled with group games, solo nature time, teaching about the plants and animals we encounter, and campfires with s’mores (don’t lie, I know you want to join us…). We plan to drive down, spend the first night at the trailhead, then hike up and set up camp on day 2. We will do a long day hike on day 3, and then hike down and drive back up Highway 1 to San Francisco on our final day together. If we can raise enough, I would love to take the crew to the historic and magical restaurant Nepenthe for a celebration lunch on our way back! (Now I know you’re feeling jealous…)
The money fundraised will go to purchase any gear that we need (aside from what our borrowed collection entails), food for the trip, gas and a rental van, a stipend for our volunteer trip leader, and any park fees or donations we make.
Please give what you’re able, and remember how incredibly impactful the power of the woods and mountains are…passing that along to young women is a priceless gift! Blessings and much appreciation to you all.
Love, Mira
Every March, our school has a “Week Without Walls,” where teachers and community members lead week-long electives centered around a certain theme or activity. Students receive Leadership and/or P.E. credit, and get time to connect with other youth across grade-level. I am elated to plan my first Week Without Walls and take 12 high school girls backpacking in Big Sur! This will not be my first time in the backcountry with young people, but it will be my first time taking exclusively public school city youth, something I am honored to do. I view it as an essential act of extending opportunities and resources for self-connection, transformation, and community building to many young folks who have not had the economic opportunities to do so in this capacity.
Our itinerary is filled with group games, solo nature time, teaching about the plants and animals we encounter, and campfires with s’mores (don’t lie, I know you want to join us…). We plan to drive down, spend the first night at the trailhead, then hike up and set up camp on day 2. We will do a long day hike on day 3, and then hike down and drive back up Highway 1 to San Francisco on our final day together. If we can raise enough, I would love to take the crew to the historic and magical restaurant Nepenthe for a celebration lunch on our way back! (Now I know you’re feeling jealous…)
The money fundraised will go to purchase any gear that we need (aside from what our borrowed collection entails), food for the trip, gas and a rental van, a stipend for our volunteer trip leader, and any park fees or donations we make.
Please give what you’re able, and remember how incredibly impactful the power of the woods and mountains are…passing that along to young women is a priceless gift! Blessings and much appreciation to you all.
Love, Mira
Organizer
Mira Stern
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
