A Journey to Remember: Club Members Take on Sixth Annual Journey to the West
At Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago (BGCC), we want every Club kid to know that they can achieve any goal they set for themselves. During the sixth annual Journey to the West trip – made possible by Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy and United Airlines – BGCC teens traveled to Wyoming to discover their true potential.
"I had never flown on a plane before this trip," said Rodolfo.
Rodolfo is a four-year member of the Bartlett J. McCartin Club in the Bridgeport community. Throughout the adventure, he began to build a new sense of community with other Club kids from across the city.
This year’s trip was a success as every member of the group participated in every activity together for the first time. The 8-mile trail to Wind Cave wasn’t easy, as the group scaled a mountain and entered a massive cave. The group had already spent days hiking, horseback riding, paddleboarding, rafting, and trying things most of them had never done before.
Madison smiles while hiking.
Kamauri and Kamilah pose while stargazing.
However, nobody turned around, and they kept climbing together. When the group finally reached Wind Cave, they realized they had all done it together.
This was a powerful moment for a group of teens preparing to take their next steps into adulthood. Spending a week in Wyoming, learning they could rely on one another, was an important lesson that came at the perfect time for Azariah.
She grew up at the James R. Jordan Club. The community she has on the West Side of Chicago is everything to her, and now she’s preparing to leave for college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When she returned from Wyoming, she had just one week before heading out to begin a completely new chapter of her life.
Azariah smiles while horseback riding.
"Coming here helped me prepare for my next journey, going to college," Azariah said.
Azariah received a full-ride scholarship and plans to study Law. This experience helped her realize that every mountain she faces can be overcome with the help of her community.
"I learned that I can get out of my comfort zone and I can genuinely do a lot of things when you have a good community behind you", Azariah said.
There were moments during this 9-day adventure where she had to try something for the first time. With the help of her friends, she was able to climb cliffs and raft through torrential rivers. She also rode a horse for the first time – an everlasting experience.
“This trip showed me that life is like a hike and you just have to take it one step at a time.”
During the group's horseback riding excursion, Azariah vowed she would have to come back to Wyoming to see her horse, Cinnamon, again.
"Cinnamon and I have a bond; I'm coming back just to see her," Azariah said.
Darius also had a magical moment horseback riding.
"Horseback riding was so calming, I had never dreamed of doing this before," Darius said.
Darius is a freshman at Bradley University and a member of the Great Opportunities program. The Great Opportunities (GO) program is a youth development program designed to help young adults ages 16-24 gain the education and exposure needed to embark on a path toward college or a career.
Like Azariah and Cinnamon, Darius and his horse, Daphne, quickly formed a bond he didn't want to leave.
"It's a team effort of you and your horse; you cannot have one without the other," Darius explained. "You guide them, and they lead the way for you."
Horseback riding allowed everyone in the group to slow down and just be present. They each learned how to communicate without words and trust something completely unfamiliar. The horseback ride felt symbolic of the entire trip, as each teen had to let go and trust one another.
Charity enjoys the lake.
Darius on the hike.
Moments like these caught the teens by surprise. The West can feel like another world, and traveling far from home makes an impact. The trip gives teens the chance to see something beyond the city and helps them see themselves differently.
Facing a challenge gets easier when you know there are people beside you, and the Journey to the West helped show them what they could accomplish as a community.
Adulthood challenges you to face a new level of independence. Azariah and Darius are both facing new paths that will push them outside of their comfort zones again.
This trip helped them grow and gain more confidence about where they could go next.
A special thanks to Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy and United Airlines for making this Journey possible!
I was never really a nature person, but after hiking, I realized that I love nature and I loved being here."
Nature exploring outside of Jackson, Wyoming.
Rodolfo at Teton Science School.
Club members take in the sites of the wilderness.
"There are a lot of things we don't get to see, there are a lot of fortunes that we stop ourselves from getting just because we're afraid. So say yes to life.
Club members at mountain.
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