Take a Hike is a Vancouver charity that empowers youth with outdoor experiential learning and community. We spoke with Nav Nagra, Marketing & Communications Manager, to find out more about them.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Take a Hike empowers youth with intentional, continuous clinical counselling, outdoor experiential learning and community. Our public school district partners provide high-quality education, and together, we empower youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however, they define it.
What problem does it aim to solve?
With a proven trauma-informed approach, Take a Hike aims to provide high-quality education combined with connectiveness to the outdoors and continuous mental health supports to youth in BC who could benefit in order to achieve resilience and be empowered to succeed.
When did you start/join it?
I started with Take a Hike about a year ago but Take a Hike has been an organization since 2000.
What made you want to get involved?
The mission of Take a Hike is a powerful one and the impact can be seen throughout our programs. It was important to me to be able to support this kind of work and move forward this important mission.
What was the situation like when you started?
Take a Hike had 6 programs throughout the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and the West Kootenays and was getting ready to grow more. At the time when I started, we were supporting around 120 youth annually.
How has it changed since?
Take a Hike is poised to grow once again up to 16 programs over the next 3 years. Our goal is to be able to support around 600 youth annually with our unique program.
What more needs to be done?
The mental health crisis in BC and across Canada is growing. We need to ensure that mental health supports are provided for the youth in our province and country who need it most. Especially as they navigate difficult times in life paired with the ongoing pandemic.
How can our readers help?
You can support Take a Hike in many ways including donating, volunteering, and attending our events. You can find out more here: https://www.takeahikefoundation.org/donate
Do you have any events coming up?
Not yet! But keep an eye on our website as we hope to have some events this Spring.
Where can we follow you?
You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or our website.
