See You at the Summit is cautiously optimistic that our hibernation is over! We will continue to pay attention to the severity of new variants but excited to be crawling out of this very long slumber!
So while we were waiting out the pandemic a few big things happened.
In 2021 our application for our own 501(c)(3) status was approved by the IRS and we were able to move from underneath the YWCA umbrella to be an independent non-profit. This was a valuable and important step. All funds from previous grants and your donations were deposited into our own bank account. Where they remain patiently waiting for our new 2023 teens!
Another exciting and labor intensive process was the final draft of the research manuscript. This was completed and submitted to a journal fall 2022 for review. Two sentences does not give justice to or sum up the 100s of hours of collaboration that were invested in this accomplishment.
2023 dates have been set! July 12-20th!
Volunteers have been signing up and trip planning is under way.
As always, it takes a village to accomplish this. If you are reading this and interested in offering your expertise, whether that be medical, clerical, gear hauling, or picking up donations let us know.
The motto for this year is, Less Is More. We are sticking to the same route, same hospitals, and simplifying complex areas of the trip plan. 2019 proved this work is feasible now we need to make it sustainable. This year we are training more medical teams members and facilitators in hopes of running multiple groups at the same time for summer 2024.
SYATS is in the process of applying for 5 different grants to offset 2023 trip expenses, build sustainability, train more volunteer professionals and further research. Looking towards the future we would like to grow the summer trips which will require an eye on efficiency without losing effectiveness. A challenge we face is educating large funders on the quality of the work vs the quantity of participants. We spend 100’s of hours along side our young participants. It is a key component that makes the work impactful. The trauma of their cancer experience did not happen overnight. Nor will it be undone in one. Creativity in our funding is key. On that note… want to go fishing?
Upcoming raffle
A generous donation has been made that we will be raffling off to raise money for SYATS. A three night stay at Oz Lodge in Seward Alaska to go sockeye salmon fishing for two guests. Covers, lodging, meals and fishing. *Transportation not included.
On a personal note I wish to thank all of you for your support in the beginning years of SYATS and subsequent patience with this delay . Being in the medical field, the pandemic was grueling and life altering for both myself and Josh. We are excited to move forward and get back out into the wilderness with teens.