Bay Area Wilderness Training

Climbing For Kids gives you the chance to climb one of the greatest peaks in North America to help give under-privileged youth the opportunity to experience the wilderness firsthand. In 2009, climbers will have the experience of a lifetime when they ascend one of the 5 most sought-after peaks in the US and Mexico: Rainier, Whitney, Shasta, the Grand Teton, or Pico de Orizaba. On top of that, each climber will also receive $1,500 worth of FREE, brand-new, mountaineering gear. In return, climbers agree to fundraise on behalf of the Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT). This five-mountain benefit climb program is BAWT's biggest fundraising event of the year and will raise more than $160,000.

BAWT is a small, efficient, non-profit that both trains leaders in the skills needed to take under-privileged youth on outdoor adventures and lends gear to youth organizations for free; thus removing two of the biggest barriers keeping kids from nature. Our model works because young people who are led on outdoor adventures by trusted adults from their community are more likely to view their experiences as applicable to their lives. A growing body of evidence proves that safe, well-led, educational wilderness trips lead to higher self-esteem, better academic performance, healthier physical development, and a growing concern for the environment. Every leader we train takes an average of 17 youth into the wilderness, and last year alone over 2,500 kids went on trips thanks to BAWT programs.

Please visit climbingforkids.org.