Explore Austin

12/28/2024

In these final days of 2024, we’re counting on you to support mentorship and adventure for local youth from economically disadvantaged communities. Give today and your tax-deductible donation will be 🧡 MATCHED 🧡 by The Cooper Matthews Foundation 👉 https://ow.ly/6Y4M50UtIl8

We’re looking forward to climbing new mountains in 2025, and invite you to join us on new trails ahead. Next year, we will be:

🌲 Onboarding a total of 55 youth to our incoming class of Explorers – a tie for our largest-ever incoming class!
🌲 Launching a 6th grade feeder program with our partner schools to help us serve more youth and strengthen recruitment efforts for our flagship program.
🌲 Integrating additional conservation programming into our existing curriculum.
🌲 Completing an accreditation process through the Association for Experiential Education to deepen our program’s quality and rigor.
🌲 Deepening our training partnerships to equip staff, Mentors and Trip Leaders with the tools they need to best serve our youth Explorers.
🌲 Strategizing on our long-term vision of reaching every economically disadvantaged student in the greater Austin area.

We can’t do any of this without you, our supporters!

12/22/2024

Happy Holidays from Explore Austin! Whether you're planning on climbing mountains as the year draws to a close or are simply looking forward to a well-deserved break, we hope you're doing something you love with the people you love. Let the festivities commence! 🏔️❄️⛄

How do you celebrate in December? Let us know by dropping a comment!

12/20/2024

⛺OPEN HOUSE -- Our newly selected Mentors on the 2031 Teams and prospective Explorers were invited to an Open House at our Warehouse to learn more about the Explore Austin program, meet their future potential Mentors and get a peek at how our program functions with a "behind-the-scenes tour."

We're thrilled that we had excellent attendance, despite the rainy weather and traffic! Check out these photos from the event!

12/19/2024

2️⃣X THE IMPACT - Thanks to a generous match from The Cooper Matthews Foundation, your gift through 12/31/24 will have double the impact for the youth we serve! GIVE HERE >> https://ow.ly/f4MA50UtHzU

Levi (pictured) found adventure, thanks to you. When he enrolled in Explore Austin as a sixth grader, he was a recent transplant from Mexico and was struggling to find his “home” in Austin. A single parent, Leví’s mother relied on her children to help bring in income, and they moved often due to evictions. Leví had little stability, and he often acted out at school. When you invest in Explore Austin’s mission today, you are letting local youth like Leví know they are worthy of opportunity and support.

Throughout our 18-year history, Explore Austin has created a legacy of firsts, with ripple effects that strengthen our local community. Leví completed the six-year program as a high school senior in 2016 and is returning to the program as a Mentor in 2025!

12/18/2024

In this season of giving, we'd like to thank our 🌲 Annual Sponsors 🌲 who helped provide outdoor adventure in 2024 for 280 6th-12th graders from economically disadvantaged communities.

Your support means the world to our youth, many of whom would not have the opportunity to learn how to camp, canoe, rock climb, mountain bike or backpack without the Explore Austin program.

💚 From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

ANNUAL SPONSORS
Cooper Matthews Foundation | American Campus Communities | Moody Foundation | WoodNext Foundation | Springhouse Foundation | APTUS Engineering | Applied Materials | Endeavor Real Estate Group | Gossamer Gear | CBRE | Copperbox | Flynn Construction | | Live Oak Real Estate | Q2 Stadium | Rogers-O'Brien Construction | Studio8 Architects | Southwest Airlines | Superfun

12/17/2024

⛺ Family Campouts ⛺

In November, Explore Austin hosted Family Campouts at McKinney Falls State Park and Bastrop State Park for our Explorers and their families. These events were in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife's Texas Outdoor Family program.

Nearly 20 families joined us for a weekend of overnights in the outdoors. Our Explorers led the way in teaching their families camp skills, such as fire building and tent setup, and they had the opportunity to participate in group activities such as scavenger hunts, nature walks, s'mores making and star gazing, as well as learning about the natural surroundings from state park representatives.

12/16/2024

🏔️ VOLUNTEER WITH US 🏔️ Sign up >> https://ow.ly/CKNC50UqUiV

Quest for the Summit is the single-most important fundraiser for Explore Austin. Be a part of making the 16th Annual Quest our most successful yet! All shifts are three hours in length and include a three-course plated dinner.

Available shifts on April 1 include assisting with:
🌟 Silent auction
🌟Event registration
🌟Raffle
🌟Auction pickup
🌟Event teardown

12/13/2024

Recruiting for our next class of Explorers is wrapping up, but we still have slots for a few more:
⛰️6th grade girls
⛰️7th grade girls

Help us spread the word and refer potential Explorers to the application! Admitted youth join the Explore Austin program in late spring 2025 >> ✍️ https://ow.ly/xoeV50UqTGF

Explore Austin is a 100% FREE program for 6th-12th graders who qualify for free or reduced lunch in school. Those accepted will join a team of 15 Explorers and five adult volunteer Mentors in the spring, staying together as a team through high school graduation.

12/09/2024

Join Our Team! We're hiring for a Program Manager - Logistics & Planning

The Program Manager owns the logistics and planning for the Saturday Challenge and Summer Wilderness Trip programming. Explore Austin is seeking a critical thinker who is detail oriented, charismatic, flexible, and highly organized with superior collaboration and communication skills.

If this sounds like you, read the full job description and learn how to apply here 👉 https://ow.ly/4CfG50UmQbY

12/04/2024

🌟 $20,000 given in a single day, and our TRIPLE MATCH brings the total raised to $60,000 🌟 We reached for the sky and you met us there!

A huge THANK YOU to the Yonge Family and The Cooper Matthews Foundation for providing the match, and to everyone who gave to Explore Austin on -- our hearts are full 🧡 Your generous donations mean TWO FULL TEAMS of Explorers and Mentors will be underwritten in 2025 🤩

11/23/2024

🎁 Tuesday, December 3 is . Your gift to Explore Austin between now and 12/3 will be 🌟TRIPLED🌟 thanks to generous challenge matches from the Yonge Family and The Cooper Matthews Foundation. GIVE HERE 👉 https://ow.ly/aG8w50Ubpzy

🤝 Mentorship is the cornerstone of the Explore Austin program. Our adult volunteer Mentors dedicate six years of their free time -- and beyond -- to serve our program's youth. They give their time, attention and dedication to the youth we serve. Will you match our Mentors' enthusiasm this holiday season with a gift to Explore Austin?

11/22/2024

EXPLORER --> TRIP LEADER: A Journey

🧗 '22 Explorer alum Mia Rubio entered the Trip Leader in Training program in November 2023. Now a student at Texas State University, she was inspired to continue growing in her leadership skills after completing the full six years of the Explore Austin program.

⛺ Last summer, she supported Trip Leaders during a multiskill Summer Wilderness Trip for first-year Explorers at Inks Lake State Park in Burnet, TX and a rock climbing Capstone trip for a senior girls team in City of Rocks National Reserve, ID. A year after beginning the Trip Leader in Training program, we are thrilled to announce she's been named a full-fledged Trip Leader with the Explore Austin program.

🏔️ "I'm super stoked about growing as a leader," said Mia, adding, "I'm going to school for education and one of my passions is to help kids grow. I love seeing when things click in their minds when they learn something new, and how accomplished they feel. I love being outdoors as well, and I'm excited about being able to help youth while being outdoors. I'm continuing to learn new things as I'm transtioning to the Trip Leader role and I'm so thankful for my co-Trip Leaders I've worked with as well as all the staff welcoming me into the program!"

11/20/2024

Earlier this month we welcomed our 2031 class of Mentors at our training and orientation day, with 100% attendance! These new Mentors comprise 15 total volunteers for a girls and boys team of 6th graders, and a girls team of 10th graders.

Our 2031 Mentors come from diverse backgrounds, professions, and affiliations with Explore Austin, including:

⛺ Charlie, a returning Mentor who completed six years with a boys team that graduated in 2024, and is back for more!
⛺ Daniel, an avid rock climber at Mesa Rim who works in software engineering.
⛺ Native Mexican Levi, a former Explorer who graduated the program in 2016 and would like to model resilience, teamwork and a love for nature as an EA Mentor.
⛺ Former Girl Scout troop leader Rosa-Maria, who works as a nurse navigator for children with medical complexities.
⛺ Carlie, an aerospace engineer with NASA who loves camping under the stars.
⛺ Education researcher Madeline, who has camped and hiked in most U.S. National Parks.

👏 A huge WELCOME to our new Mentors!

11/14/2024

-- We were thrilled to present the Newbie Award to Landy Frost Group in honor of their generous support of Explore Austin. They hosted Sam's Summer Slam in June, a Pickleball and Co****le Tournament that raised over $7,000 for EA! They certainly put the "fun" in fundraiser (if you were there, you know!) with an event that featured a silent auction, food and beverages, DJ and -- of course -- plenty of Pickleball!

🧡 From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU Landy Frost Group for your support of local youth!

11/13/2024

🏔️ Quest for the Summit EARLY-BIRD TABLE PRICING INCREASE

👉 Tables for our Quest for the Summit event (taking place April 1) INCREASE from $2,000 to $2,750 starting this Friday, Nov 15 at 5:00 pm! Purchase your table by the end of the business day Friday to get the early-bird discounted pricing on a table for 10: https://ow.ly/Ox5350U6lWB

👉 $2,000 completely covers the cost of one year of the Explore Austin program for one Explorer. A table at Quest includes:
⛰️ Libations and dinner for 10
⛰️ 5 complimentary raffle tickets
⛰️ Text recognition on event website
⛰️ Text recognition in printed program
⛰️ 1 social mention

11/13/2024

🌲 Outdoors for All Takes YOU 🌲 Read the 2023-2024 Impact Report 👉 https://ow.ly/3vJB50U6kLs

🧗 We're thrilled to report that in the last two years, the Explore Austin program has experienced the highest rates of retention ever, with both Mentors and Explorers averaging 82% from program year one to program year six.

🌟 As we reflect on the last two years and look to the future, our vision of Outdoors for All will continue to guide us forward.

Read Explore Austin's 2023-2024 Impact Report by Explore Austin on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

10/16/2024

🥾 EXPLORER APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN! Learn more & apply today 👉 https://ow.ly/L3R050TMg2F

🗓️ Applications close November 30, with admitted youth joining the Explore Austin program in late spring 2025.

⛺ Explore Austin is a 100% FREE program for 6th-12th graders who qualify for free or reduced lunch in school. Those accepted will join a team of 15 Explorers and five adult volunteer Mentors in the spring, staying together as a team through high school graduation.

This year, we're recruiting:
🌲 6th grade boys
🌲 6th grade girls
🌲 10th grade girls

🚵‍♂️ Camping, hiking, navigation, rock climbing, canoeing and mountain biking are some of the outdoor skills and disciplines our Explorers learn over the course of the program.

Questions❓ Feel free to DM us!

10/02/2024

🔥 CAMPAIGN EXTENDED TO OCT 15 🔥 GIVE HERE 👉 https://ow.ly/XYyZ50TopyA

🤝 Outdoors for All Takes YOU. Give to Trailblazer, our annual peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, or create your own fundraising page for Explore Austin at the link above and walk alongside us in our mission of empowering local youth through long-term mentorship, leadership development and outdoor adventure.