This November, we were stoked to create a team for Mustaches for Kids (M4K) once again to raise money to support our programming. Thanks to partners like Ballast Consulting Group, High Point Barbershop, the Hampton Park Mens Club, On Three Photography, and TrailHead Creative, our team shattered our base fundraising record with an all-time high of over $80,000!

As the year ends, we’re proud to announce that two of our partners recently recognized the Beyond Boundaries team as part of their year-end recognitions. Community is a key pillar of our ACE (Access, Community, Empowerment) values, and these recognitions from our community partners are evidence of our continued work to build community relationships to build more substantial access points for our participants within the community.

We’re back, baby!! Last year, our M4K team, “Growin’ on an Adventure,” did a fantastic job raising funds for Beyond Boundaries. These funds help support future trips, gear purchases, and more.

This October marks our first inaugural Bonfire Gala! The Bonfire is our version of a Gala Fundraising event that will take place outside, under the stars (and a tent with bistro lights!) at the Preserve at Dundee. We are excited to host a night of fun, music, dinner, drinks, auction prizes, and more!

Calling all Beyond Boundaries volunteers! We have an important update about how to sign up for trips and track your volunteer hours. We’re now requiring all trip volunteers to register through Galaxy. We understand that this may take a little more work on your part, but it goes a long way to helping our team

Trail magic is real. Just ask any of our participants, Adventure Guides, or friends! Recently, a group on one of our Roanoke trips witnessed some trail magic firsthand, as one of our participants proposed to his now-fiance.

George is our new program coordinator and team member. He has been an avid outdoorsman since an early age through programs like BSA. He graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 2013 with a focus in Developmental Psychology and Mentoring at-risk youth. George has been a dedicated rock climber for the past 20 years, and this passion led him to start the first Richmond-based rock climbing program that included individuals with disabilities.

Anna Laura joins us by way of the University of Richmond as one of our summer interns. She’s a water lover- chasing any reason to spend time on the river. Her experiences in the outdoors range widely, and it’s been exciting to watch her try new things this summer with us in our programs. Anna Laura brings excellent leadership experience and energy to our trips, and we’re glad to have her!

Meet Carson! Carson is one of our summer interns, and he’s been a great addition to the team. He brings tons of enthusiasm and energy to our programming, and as a recent Radford grad, he also shares his great experience with adaptive outdoor programming. Fun fact: Carson graduated from the same program as our founder, Shep.

Developing unique programming that significantly impacts our community is at the core of our mission. Our adaptive climbing program is the perfect example of how our team works to build community around the activities we provide and the participants we serve.

Sam has been a critical partner with Beyond Boundaries during our adaptive climbing programs, and watching him work with our participants and guides is truly a sight to behold. Sam is a dedicated climber, guide, and adaptive climbing partner and has had a massive impact on our programming, thanks to his dedication and the commitment of Peak Experiences to creating an open and welcoming environment for climbers of all abilities.

Over the winter, our team, led by Katie, facilitated 20 adaptive climbing trips, a significant increase from the previous year. Katie is a die-hard climber who brought her energy, expertise, and excitement to our adaptive climbing program, helping it blossom into a fantastic offering for our participants.

Branden got his start with Beyond Boundaries as a participant. A self-described fishing lover, he brought smiles to everyone’s face when he caught an impressive largemouth bass on one of his first few fishing trips and shared a loving call with his grandfather to show off his catch. Branden’s positive attitude, great presence and willingness to try hard at everything he does impressed our team so much that we recently brought him on board as our new Community Events Facilitator.

As we move into 2024, we are introducing three new principles that will serve as guiding ideals for Beyond Boundaries. Access. Community. Empowerment. These standards are at the core of everything we do. As we continue to expand both our organization and our programming, we are challenging ourselves, our volunteers and our community to live up to these standards.

Volunteering with Beyond Boundaries takes many forms, and for some, it becomes a way to embark on personal adventures. For our second Volunteer of the Year, Tim Raney, it was a way to learn new things while connecting organizations that he cares about.

It’s no secret that we love our volunteers. Every year, dozens of people take time out of their busy schedules to volunteer with us, sharing their passion for adventure and the outdoors. Without our volunteers, Beyond Boundaries wouldn’t be what it is today. That being said, every year there are a few volunteers that go above and beyond, dedicating themselves to our mission and supporting our team on trips. This year, we’re proud to recognize Christina Buccigrossi as one of our two volunteers of the year.

Thank you to Zenbusiness for helping to support our mission in 2024!

ZenBusiness makes it easy to start, run, and grow your business. By making business formation easy and affordable, we hope to foster a small business community where owners can connect on a local and national level and help each other grow.

Every year, our staff and board meet to conduct a retrospective and reflect on the past year. As part of this process, we internally recognize our partners and volunteers and share our gratitude for their hard work and dedication. During these discussions, we vote on our Trailblazer Award recipients.

Sometimes adventure carries you beyond the boundaries of the greater Richmond area. We love seeing our partners rep Beyond Boundaries wherever they go, especially as they’re reaching new heights.

Recently, we had the opportunity to partner with accomplished para-climber Allie Redshaw as she went on a globe-trotting adventure to climb one of the best locations in the world. During her 10-day trip, she was the only para climber, joining athletes worldwide as they climbed in Majorca, Spain.

This year, we kicked off our M4K fundraiser in a big way– our partners at TrailHead Creative set up an awesome shave day, donated by High Point Barbershop. Members of our team met on a blustery morning on November 1st to get hot towel shaves donated by High Point. Our friends at On Three Photography also graciously donated their time to photograph the event and make an awesome recap video.