2020 Fall Newsletter

SUMMER CAMP AT SOAR ACADEMY AT SOAR GAP YEAR AT SOAR

NEWSLETTER

FALL 2020

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Welcoming SOAR’s New Admissions Director!

SOAR is thrilled to welcome Cynthia Kelly to the team as the new Admissions Director!

Cynthia will be working with the Summer Camp, Academy, and GAP Year at SOAR and is most excited about joining SOAR’s mission of positive impact in the world and supporting families through the process. We cannot wait for our families to get to know the newest member of our team!

Cynthia is a WNC camp kid, Raleigh, NC native, and Brevard College Alumni. She found her calling for serving youth and families while working for Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) at Asheville High School. She then served as High School Liaison and Admissions trainer at South College. Prior to coming to SOAR she worked as Partnership Manager of the Southeast for Shorelight and helped internationalize 22 Universities throughout the United States. Outside of work Cynthia can be found hiking with her two kids and husband.

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Kicking off the 2020-2021 Academy at SOAR & It has been a great start to the Academy and GAP Year at SOAR! Our students, gappers, and staff are so happy to be programming in-person and we could not have asked for a better start to the year.

In Waynesville, NC, the Academy at SOAR kicked off the year on August 31st as we welcomed students back for the first time since March. They have already gone on some pretty amazing adventures including canoeing and backpacking in the Smoky Mountains and visiting West Virginia to hike Dolly Sods and climb the New River Gorge! So far students have gone canoeing, rock climbing, bouldering, backpacking, hiking, whitewater rafting, all while still attending classes. Although the school year looks a little different, the Academy is making the best of it and creating many new memories. Senior student Natalie Moore stated, “Although situations can be tough the adventures will always be out there waiting for you!�

GAP Year at SOAR with In-Person Programming!

Meanwhile in Dubois, WY, our gappers are creating their own remarkable memories. On their first expedition, gappers backpacked through the Bridger-Teton National Forest, explored Yellowstone National Park, and rock climbed in the City of Rocks in Idaho. They just returned from their second expedition where their adventures took them to the Moab desert’s canyonlands in Utah. They got to go mountain biking, zip-lining, volunteering, and canoeing down the Green River! Along with all of these outstanding adventures, gappers have started their college classes and will begin lifeguard certification in the next week. GAP Year Director Ian Moore stated, “GAP Year at SOAR started off with a beautiful fall snow, quickly melting off for great sunny weather at Eagle View Ranch! Gappers have spent time hiking through the Shoshone National Forest, climbing on the Alpine Tower, and exploring Sinks Canyon! All gappers are settling in for a year full of adventure!”

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TIPS & TRICKS

ADHD Tips—Stuck at Home? Here Are 10 Tips for Students and Parents to Help You Explore and Grow!

Feeling restless? Adjusting to more time at home, daydreaming about future adventures at SOAR camp, or just anywhere out and about for that matter?

We created this list of ADHD tips for students and parents to help you brainstorm different things you can do to pass the time.

Even though life may look a little different right now, it doesn’t mean that the SOAR family isn’t here for you! SOAR teaches campers how to embrace adaptability and creativity, and no time seems more relevant to exercise these traits than right now.

So, go ahead and get your daypack packed, fill up your Nalgenes, and tighten up your Chacos, we’ve got some exploring to do! Here are 10 ways you can explore (and grow) with SOAR even from home! 5 tips for the campers, 5 tips for the parents.

5 ADHD Tips for Students 1. Take a Virtual Visit of a National Park Were you excited to explore a National Park at camp?

Don’t let social distancing stop you. The National Park Service and Google Earth have created hours of online exploration of ‘America’s Best Idea.’

Hop on Google Earth for virtual visits of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Tetons, Dry Tortugas, Great Smoky Mountains, The Grand Canyon, and more!

Or head to the National Park website for even more exploring. There you can find webcams of wolves, geysers, and bison, just to name a few! Learning about these incredible places from home will help you appreciate the parks even more once you are there in person!

2. Practice a Camp Skill How about a knot tying tutorial? Or this intro to map and compass? Why not ace these bird calls? Next time you go to SOAR they‘ll start calling you Jim Bridger! Or, get a camp friend in on the shenanigans and you are well on your way to becoming the 21st century, Lewis & Clark.

3. Zoom with Your SOAR pals Been to SOAR before? Have some familiar faces you might be missing? Why not set up a zoom hang? Try out some online games like Quiplash, Code Names, or make it old school and play Jeopardy. Just keep it civil now. Or why not Pony Express it and foster a soarnc.org SOAR friendship with some good ole’ snail mail?

4. Have a Camp Night at Home Yum yum, think of enjoying a hobo dinner over the roaring fire while looking up at the mighty Big Dipper. Summertime perfection. Or how about a s’more competition? Delicious! Whatever you do, get your family involved. Cook up one of your favorite SOAR meals. Why not set up your tent and make a night of it? How about showing off your fire-making skills? P.S. make sure it’s parent-approved/supervised, use a proper fire pit, and make sure there aren’t fire warnings in your area. Don’t disappoint Smokey!

5. Start Thinking about Your Next SOAR Adventure Yes, it may seem like the world is on hold right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t think about your next SOAR outdoor adventure.

Explore our website to see all the amazing SOAR expeditions. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for virtual takeovers, visits to our different campuses, info sessions with staff, and more! Have something about SOAR you’d like to learn more about? Let us know! We are here and we can’t wait to get back outside with you.

5 ADHD Tips for Parents 1. Join Our Weekly Webinar Series These webinars were created specifically to give extra support to parents during this time. Led by John Willson (SOAR’s Executive Director), our weekly webinars feature a variety of important topics for parents of ADHD/LD children.

Webinar topics range from creating structure in your home, fostering social skills, and healthy relationships with electronics, mindset work and failing forward.

Missed a webinar? Don’t worry—we have them saved for you on our website, in addition to supplementary powerpoints/videos.

2. Connect with us on social media If you don’t already, follow our SOAR accounts.

Join us on Instagram and Facebook, to keep up-to-date on our SOAR community. Have a look into our programs, special events, and join us on virtual expeditions!

3. Meet Us on a Zoom call We have recently launched interactive Zoom call meetings in addition to our webinar series. These meetings allow parents the opportunity to ask questions directly to ADHD/LD experts. See our soarnc.org previous Zoom meetings—“Ask the Experts.”

4. Make Time for Self-Care Now more than ever, it is important parents are making time for themselves.

Find your outlet and schedule time for it. That may be a 30 min walk alone around your neighborhood, a call with a dear friend, or cooking a nourishing meal.

Prioritizing your own wellbeing benefits the entire family. Whatever it is, make time for it.

5. Consider Outside Support With the added pressures of social distancing, education from home, and close quarters, anxiety and stress can be riding high right now. Keep in mind that seeking help beyond your main circle can be necessary during the time of COVID-19.

Many reputable and professional mental health services are available online.

Teletherapy is a resource that many families are turning to—learn more in this ADDitude article. You can also consider hiring a virtual ADHD coach to help you tackle those things in your life you’ve always wanted to work on, but just never found the time.

Remember, you’re not alone. We are in this together!

Join Us for Our Webinar Series!

Join us for our FREE webinar series! SOAR’s goal is to continue providing our families with resources that will help during this unprecedented time.

Sign up to join us via Zoom or phone twice a month.

Missed a webinar? You can catch up on our website any time at www.soarnc.org/webinars

Do you shop with AmazonSmile?

Choose SOAR, Inc as your charity!

AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones.

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Notes from Big John The winds of change blew in like a hurricane disrupting all of our lives in a way none of us had anticipated. Like most of you, SOAR has been working hard to find a path forward. I must admit, not having campers here this summer definitely made Balsam Base camp a lonely place. The outpouring of love and support from you has been humbling, and I want you to know how much we appreciate you. To that end, I thought I would give some notes and highlights about what is happening here.

We have welcomed Cynthia Kelly to SOAR as Admissions Director. We are excited about what she brings to the team and can’t wait for families to get to know her.

Thanks to the generosity of Stephen and Jenna Young, SOAR was able to complete our new kitchen and dining hall. “Buck’s Café” is in full operation and is patiently awaiting campers next summer.

The Academy successfully launched their Fall 2020 school year in person, and it is so wonderful to have students on the mountain again.

The GAP Year program in Wyoming also launched in person and 9 new “Gappers” are embarking on the journey of a lifetime.

The call for support went out and our community is responding. We received pledges of $50,000 to initiate a matching campaign and to date have received $70,000 in support.

This continues to bring us closer to our $3,000,000 goal from the “Give so they can grow” Capital Campaign. We are in the home stretch and have raised $2.27 Million.

We began weekly webinars last spring and have over 50 Webinars that families can listen to at no cost. You can tune in bi-weekly and spend about an hour with me discussing strategies, hearing stories, and remembering best practices. If you want more information about participating email brittney@soarnc.org.

We are already beginning discussions about how to best host summer camp in 2021 and are looking forward to eating trail pizzas, backpacking, rock climbing, rafting, snorkeling, horseback riding and eating s’mores once again. Thank you for your continued interest and support to SOAR. We are so glad to be programming again and look forward to finding new and wonderful ways to support you and your family.

-Big John

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P.O. Box 388 Balsam, NC 28707 828-456-3435 Fax: 801-820-3050

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connect with us! @soaradhd

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