by Madison Chadwick Thomas
Every organization has trials and tribulations, and Chicago Voyagers is certainly not immune. But at the end of the year, when our lives tend to both speed up and slow down, it is so easy to look back at the year and feel overwhelming gratitude.
This year kicked off with opening our new facility to the public. We welcomed new friends to our staff and to our board. We celebrated enormous milestones, such as completing our 100,000th program hour since our founding in 2008. Through over twenty partnerships we served hundreds of Voyagers, guiding them through trails, water, rock formations, and their own personal hurdles.
In the year ahead we will continue our growth with the launch of seven new Voyage programs with North Chicago High School, made possible by our friends at the Steans Family Foundation. Each of these programs will include eight young people who will join the program while they are in middle school and continue until their graduation from high school. This will give the participants a chance to continually build and test the skills they utilize both outdoors and in their real lives.
As you can see, 2022 was a great year and has set Chicago Voyagers up for an even better 2023. What else could we be except grateful?
Thank you to the CV team, partners, donors, and participants who make all of this possible. We wish you a peaceful, hopeful new year. Remember to practice mindfulness, make time for yourself and as always, get outside.
