The Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation (TAH Foundation) was established in 2001 to support the Take a Hike program. In partnership with the Vancouver School Board, the TAH Foundation provides the resources and funding for all of the programs operations, therapists and outdoor activities. In seven years, the Foundation has raised over $1 million in support of at-risk Vancouver youth.
The People
The Foundation's Board of Directors is comprised of 15 leaders in the Vancouver community who are thoroughly committed to the foundation. All of the Foundation's Directors are volunteers and make an annual gift - A true testament to their belief in the program. The Foundation is also comprised of several volunteer committee members who are dedicated to furthering the development of at-risk Vancouver youth.
The Foundation employs two full-time therapists that work with the students in the program. There is also a part-time Executive Director whose salary is paid by the Board of Directors. As such, our donors are assured that 100% of every donation supports the students in the program.
Our donors are comprised of leading businesses and individuals in our community who provide generous support for the Take a Hike program. These include CIBC, RBC, Central City Foundation and IBM. To view a list of our corporate and foundation supporters, click here.
Our objectives
The TAH Foundation has three key objectives: changed lives, sustainability, and broad reach. The Foundation engages in a strategic planning process twice a year that relates specifically to these objectives. In June 2008, the board underwent a very successful strategic planning session to determine our priorities over the coming years. If this is of interest, please contact our Executive Director to discuss.
How we measure changed lives
The Foundation is results driven and has many different ways of measuring its ability to "change lives" of at-risk Vancouver youth. Listed below are ways in which we define our success. We track these results and report them to our stakeholders on an annual basis:
- Increase in the student's ability to handle stress
- Improvement in self-esteem
- Improved communication skills
- Enhanced Social skills
- Positive School life
- Improvement in academic competence
- New skills and/or certification that students have acquired
- How many students have completed high school graduation (with dogwood or school leaving certificate)
- Decrease in percent and number of participants dropping out
- Increase of hours of substance abuse counselling taken by students
- How many volunteer hours students have done in the community
- Increase in class attendance
- Increase in completed assignments
For further information, please contact our Executive Director, Michelle Berry.
Interested in making a donation? Click here for several giving options.