High Adventure Trips;
A group of incredible DREAMers + a map + a lot of hard work = High Adventure
 The most visible element of DREAM's summer offering, High Adventure lasts for two weeks over the summer and is open to all DREAMers eleven and older. Involving much more than the actual trip, planning begins during the preceding fall. Efforts from all DREAM stakeholders, including mentors, children, parents, local businesses, and the DREAM Central Office, ensure the success of the trips. A critical focus of High Adventure is an effort to promote ownership among the group members, especially by empowering the participating children to choose the destination and charging them with the responsibility of fundraising to cover the cost of the trip. In addition to the incredible experiences the trip itself offers, we have found that the process of planning, fundraising, and group development results in lasting relationships, stronger teamwork skills, increased self-confidence, and a much broader sense of the world. The overarching goals for the High Adventure program are:
- Increased self-confidence
- Accomplishment of goals, through planning and healthy risk-taking (i.e. horseback riding, rafting, climbing, and generally pushing limits in a safe and constructive environment)
- Building teamwork skills
- Creating a sense of communal responsibility (the trip incorporates service activities and discussion to explore how it takes every member to make a community)
- Creating a broader vision of the world
- Experiencing other ways of living
To facilitate these outcomes, all mentors participate in a three-day pre-trip training period and the trip is supported organizationally and programmatically by the Central Office's Summer Programs Director. Past trips have involved visiting National Parks like Arches, the Rockies, and the Great Sand Dunes, white-water rafting down the Arkansas River, participating in environmental protection service projects, touring the US Air Force Academy, and watching a major league soccer game in Denver.
Summer 2005; UVM/Elm St. trip to ALASKA!
In June of 2005, eleven kids and 6 mentors (plus one central staff member nicknamed Ranger Butt) went to Alaska! This was DREAM's first High Adventure Trip that took DREAMers out of the lower 48 states. The group visited Homer, Alaska, took a rafting trip, and visited the native village of Nanwalek. Check out the Alaska Photo Gallery Here!
Other Trips
In addition to the most current trips above, we have pictures from other exciting past trips Camp and Summer Photo Gallery. Check it out!
Special Thanks
These trips would not have been possible if not for the generous support from individual donors, local organizations such as the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and foundations such as the Vermont Children’s Trust Fund and the Salmon Foundation. For a full list of 2003 donors, please see our donor thank you page.
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