Refugee Education & Adventure CHallenge (REACH)

Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH) is a Chicago-based nonprofit that introduces experiential learning opportunities focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, & Math) education and adventure sports to refugee youth, ages 10-18, and their families. REACH helps integrate newcomers into the social fabric of the areas in which they are being resettled. Our programs focus on developing social capital (networks, norms, and access), which helps shift the marginal status that is often held by refugee youth and their families.

Our mission is to inspire leadership, academic success, and connections among refugee youth through active dynamic learning outside the traditional classroom. REACH engages refugee youth in outdoor education and adventure sports, helping them to foster connections, enhance knowledge and leadership growth, improve health and fitness, and develop a sense of stewardship of public lands. 

REACH employs experiential learning, positive youth development, and ecotherapy methods to break down social, economic, and place-based barriers. Our vision is to build a sense of space and learning through an engaged network of refugee youth, their families, and adult mentors. Short-term objectives are to build leadership skills, increase outdoor experiences, reduce youth isolation, expand family activities, build practical STEAM skills, and provide career development. REACH participants gain skills in English language proficiency, interpersonal dynamics, teambuilding, leadership, STEAM education (i.e., living organisms, stream ecology, nature photography, urban habitats, sustainable cities), service learning, and outdoor adventure sports like paddling, biking, hiking, climbing, archery, fishing, skiing, snow tubing, ice skating, and camping.