Program Update: Winter Season 2022
As Winter 2022 comes to a close, and we pack up our skis and snowboards, boots and poles, we want to express gratitude and reflect on the last three months.
This winter we saw our largest cohort of 7th graders yet! 42 brand-new to BYEP participants showed up for themselves and each other, and experienced a community of support both on and off the mountain. Thank you to the school counselors, youth probation officers, therapists, and caring adults who send applicants our way — we simply wouldn’t exist without these strong relationships.
Our participants spent their workshops learning how to work together to cook delicious meals for themselves, sledding at Peets Hill and ice skating at Beall Park, playing team-building games, and practicing self-expression and gratitude. Our end-of-season evaluations revealed that participants felt listened to by their mentors and Program Managers and reflected on the importance of not making assumptions. They felt welcomed and included, even on days where they weren’t their best.
“He began to interact with the other participants in workshop, and by the end of the season he had become friends with other teens and mentors. BYEP really let this very shy kid open up.”
We are forever grateful for our volunteer mentors, who donate 100 hours of their time each and every season: riding the bus with kids up to Big Sky, coaching participants on the mountain, and holding space for them in workshops. One mentor recently shared: “A participant in my group was very close to quitting BYEP after just a couple weeks. I got the privilege to ski with him on week 3 and we had an absolute blast! He began to improve quickly and started to gain confidence on the mountain and then that transitioned to confidence at the workshops. He began to interact with the other participants in workshop, and by the end of the season he had become friends with other teens and mentors. BYEP really let this very shy kid open up and gave him the chance to learn to ski with his peers, and even more importantly gave him the opportunity to connect with kids his own age. I’m very happy to see him leaving this season with new friends and some sick ski skills.”
“Being vulnerable is cool.”
A past mentor reflected on his own experience and summed it up as, “being vulnerable is cool”. We agree. Here at BYEP, we believe in our participants, and know that when we are present in both mind and body, call in instead of call out, and practice compassion, empathy, and kindness, we are creating an environment that empowers our participants to determine what success looks like to them, on their terms.
Thank you for allowing us to continue to serve our community! We look forward to creating more memories and capturing powerful stories this summer season. Stay tuned for what we get into!
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Brittany DeKoch
Program Director
