YEAR IN 2009 BIG REVIEW CITYMOUNTAINEERS www.bigcitymountaineers.org “It was all great. It was very challenging the first day but after it was amazing. The adults were great and cool. They all have touched my heart.” -2009 Teen Participant, San Leandro, CA 1 Our stories and passions unite us. In 2009, the power of BCM’s community and its dedication to urban teens guided our organization through a milestone year. In this annual review we celebrate the young people we serve by sharing powerful stories of growth and learning. Among the voices you will hear are teens whose lives have changed through our programs, volunteers who selflessly give time and talent to nurture our young people, and steadfast donors who make a difference in the world: one BCM teen at a time. The commitment of BCM supporters and the experience of its day-to-day team made it possible in 2009 for BCM to increase programs and impact more young people than ever before. With your help, we: • Increased teen program days (+39%) while decreasing costs • Served more than 600 individual teens through outdoor From experiences and employment opportunities • Connected almost 450 adult mentors with urban teenagers The Staff • Delivered programs with 24 partner agencies in 9 cities across the United States Big City • Changed the lives of under-resourced teens These milestones in our 20-year history are a testament to Mountaineers everyone who selflessly supports BCM and its mission. Continued and generous support from our outdoor indus- try partners provided many of the resources needed to grow our program in the Pacific Northwest. Support from the Stewardship Council gave BCM the opportunity to launch the Urban Family Gateway program in northern California. In 2009, while BCM’s Summit for Someone fundraising event continued to be our largest income source, we made good progress on establishing healthy alternative revenue streams and partnerships, including: • Developing the framework for a robust individual giving program • Securing support in new ways, like our work with the Stewardship Council • Deepening our relationships with leaders in the outdoor industry • Expanding to new circles and opportunities with leadership from our Board of Directors BCM was able to do more with less in 2009. The economic downturn motivated our team to increase program efficiency. We evaluated every expense in the organization, and while our efforts will be continuous, the team sig- nificantly reduced expenses without sacrificing the quality of our program. We continue to receive excellent results in our quantitative analysis of program effectiveness using the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets profile. Each of BCM’s four regional operations -- Colorado, California, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest -- is sup- ported by the headquarters team, and led by regional program managers responsible for the direction and operation of their BCM program. Each region delivers three types of programs: Go, Relate, and Goals. Through these pro- grams, urban teens are introduced to BCM, participate in a weeklong journey of learning, and return again as an em- ployee and/or on alumni events. Our belief: through extending our opportunities to touch teens’ lives, we are able to serve them more effectively. In addition to our regular programs, BCM delivers two special year-round programs in California: Male Involvement Project (MIP) and Urban Family Gateway. BCM thrived in 2009 because of our donors and Summit for Someone climbers who gave of their time and money, and our board members who shared their leadership and commitment. We’re eager to share their voices, as well as those of the young people impacted by our programs. Thank you. 2 Hi, my name Hi my name is Hajia and I am from Kenya, I was originally born in Somalia. My family is So- is Hajia! mali Bantu and we were thought of as the lower class so my parents left the country for a better life for their kids. After many stops we settled “How can in a Kenyan Refugee Camp. After waiting 12 years in Kenya and a long interview process, my you capture on family arrived in the US on March 24th 2005. When Ms. MK from Mercy Housing walked up to me and said that there was a trip coming paper the symphonic up in the summer with Big City Mountaineers, I remember getting excited. I wanted to go to sound of 9 people laughing? the mountains and do something I had never experienced before. Since I had never been to Words cannot describe the the mountains I didn’t know much about the mountains but I had seen a lot of movies and seen people get hurt in the outdoors so that worried me. And I also thought that walking so joy of accomplishment in the much every day with heavy backpacks was going to be a problem, but I didn’t let that worry me or keep me up at night. teens eyes when they discover Then finally the day came. Being outside was great. What made it so great were the people. I enjoyed making new friends with the Burmese girls. We would all sing together in our tents at night and laugh a lot. I felt like I was no different than any of them when I was in nature. I strength they didn’t realize they also enjoyed the days I got to lead the group on our hikes and we all had to work together to get to where we needed to go. The woods and the nature were just amazing, I heard different had. The BCM trip is not sounds then I had ever heard before, no cars or buses, and the stars were incredible there were so many. I felt like I belonged there, it felt right waking up every morning with the sounds of the animals. It also felt like being back home in Kenya, you would see the stars that you would something you can just read see in the mountains and you could drink water out of the stream. The opportunity that Big City Mountaineers gave me was one of the greatest gifts, not only and understand; you because we could be in nature but it was more, it was the adults that were with us Katie, Chris- ty, Amanda, and Ms. MK, these people were interested in the stories that I had to tell. These simply must experience people that I had never met before believed in me, and if they believed in me and felt like I could accomplish this trip, than it made me think I can do this. They volunteer and give a part of their life, but I don’t think they understand what it does for us. They didn’t just guide us up it yourself.” the mountain they were also there to share and give us these amazing gifts. Once I came back from that trip I realized my potential. My parents never got to go to high school, so I want to graduate from high school and go to college. Because people have said that I couldn’t accomplish this, I want to finish school and I want people to look up and see that I reached my goal. I can never give back to Big City Mountaineers what they have given me. I am very grateful that the adults on the trip believed in me. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story. -Hajia, Teen Participant, Denver, CO 3 “How can you capture on paper the symphonic sound of 9 people laughing? Words cannot describe the joy of accomplishment in the teens eyes when they discover strength they didn’t realize they had. The BCM trip is not something you can just read and understand; you simply must experience it yourself.” -2009 Adult Volunteer, Seattle, WA 4 Program Goals The goal of Big City Mountaineers, a 501c(3) An Overview non-profit, is to provide urban teenage youth with of Our challenging, safe outdoor experiences designed Programs to build self-esteem and Big City Mountaineers is positively impact their Mitsu devoted to providing life-enhancing experiences to beliefs about themselves under-resourced urban teens. At the core of BCM’s and their relationship with Iwasaki programs is a weeklong wilderness expedition cou- others. Director of Operations pling urban teens with adult mentors as they journey and Safety through a curriculum of learning and self-discovery followed by periods of reflection. One-to-one men- GO • Single-day activities toring and coaching by committed and passionate introducing teens to Big adults from diverse backgrounds brings a richness City Mountaineers and the of personalities and experiences to BCM expedi- outdoors. tions typically not found in wilderness-based youth development programs, providing BCM teens with RELATE a unique opportunity for relationship building and • Weeklong wilderness growth. In addition to our “core” wilderness expedi- expeditions. Single- tion, BCM provides one-day activities before and gender, one-to-one mentoring, designed after the expedition to strengthen our engagement to inspire and motivate with teens. Successful and highly motivated teens are personal growth. offered employment opportunities to support their continued partnership with BCM. GOALS Big City Mountaineers believes strongly that learn- • Post-expedition ing should not exist in vacuums, and for that reason, BCM partners with youth agen- opportunities for cies that focus on teens from socially or economically challenged backgrounds. By employment and reunion collaborating with agencies serving teens year-round, BCM is simultaneously enrich- events ing the teens’ daily engagement with their youth agencies while enabling the learning MIP (Male from their BCM expedition to become meaningful in their daily lives.