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Three States, Three Series’, One Awesome New Partner

Waypoint has a new partnership! This summer, we had the awesome opportunity to partner with Epilepsy Foundation of New England (EFNE) and run programs in three different states! EFNE’s mission is: to lead the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures, and save lives. They serve approximately 100,000 people in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island affected by Epilepsy and the people who care for them.

Throughout July and August, we custom designed three series programs across New England. Our first series was at Lincoln Woods State Park, Rhode Island. It included outdoor rock climbing and a day of exploring the beautiful park on a hike. On our second program series, we traveled west to Central Rock Gym in Worcester, MA for two indoor rock climbing programs. And our final program series took place in Maine for a ropes course at Camp Ketcha in Scarborough and kayaking at Range Pond in Poland.

The goal of it all? EFNE wanted to provide “camp-like” experiences for some families who just couldn’t do sleep away camps. They recognized the learning and growth that happens when youth are challenged through adventurous experiences. The goals to challenge ourselves and recognize support from our networks rose to the surface as goals. We were psyched that so many individuals and families got to come together and meet others in their community living with Epilepsy, but more-so, we were blown away at the impact these experiences had! 

One 10-year old girl showed up to the ropes course visibly anxious. She had never been on a ropes course before! When it came time to do the high element “Multi-Vine,” she was the last in her group to try. When it was finally her turn, her whole team cheered her on as she climbed the staples embedded in a large tree to a thin foot cable, 20 feet above the ground. This thin foot cable was connected to an adjacent tree 100 feet away. She carefully balanced on the cable and shimmied her way across using hanging ropes above her like vines to get to the other side…. and she made it! As she was lowered down by her team, she beamed with pride and a large smile appeared on her face from ear to ear. To the whole group at the end of the day, she said: “I wasn’t sure I was going to come to camp, but I am so glad I did! I challenged myself all day and achieved my goals. I’m so proud of myself!”

These are the kind of moments that make these partnerships run deep! These programs would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the staff at EFNE, our awesome site locations that allowed us to run programs, and the individuals and families that participated! We can’t wait to see what’s next for Waypoint and EFNE!

Check out pictures from each series!
July 17th Outdoor Rock Climbing

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July 18th Hike at Lincoln Woods State Park, RI

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July 24th & 25th Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Gym in Worcester, MA

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August 21st Ropes Course at Camp Ketcha in Scarborough, ME

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August 22nd Kayaking at Range Pond in Poland, ME

A little rain didn’t stop us from having an awesome day out on the water!

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