Meet Angie, the new Operations Coordinator in Roanoke! Angie was the Founder and  CEO of St. Vincent's Home and the Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center, serving the Roanoke, Lexington, and Lynchburg, VA areas. Angie is married to Alan and the mother to three grown children, one of whom has autism.

Abbey is our newest intern, and we’re thrilled to have her join our team! She’s currently studying environmental science at the University of Mary Washington. Make sure to catch her on an adventure this summer- she’s learning how to climb and loves hiking. We bet by the end of the summer, she may even catch a few fish!

Another year, another R.I.M.B.Y. Festival! This year marked not only another incredible year of celebrations but also our 10th anniversary. While it was a hot and muggy day, it was hard not to smile as we saw our community gather to enjoy live music, an adaptive film festival, and our vendor village.

As we welcome our newest partner, Sims Metal, as a title sponsor to several of our events and an impactful supporter of our mission, we have to take a moment to revel in the incredible community that outdoor adventure creates. We met Colin, the Environmental and Regulatory Community Engagement Manager at Sims Metal, through Alek and our work with the Department of Wildlife Resources. An avid angler, new climber, and adventurous outdoorsman, Colin has become a dedicated supporter of Beyond Boundaries, and his company, Sims Metal, has as well.

All of our volunteers are special, but this year, we’ve had the special privilege of working with the mother/son volunteer duo Henry and Erica. Henry is a competitive climber and middle schooler, and Erica may just take the trophy for climbing mom of the year!

This year, we’ve piloted a new “Learn to Ride” program with WeeWheel. Thanks to generous donations from a private family foundation and a Capital Trail Outdoor Equity Fund grant, we built a fleet of bicycles suitable for riders of all levels. Combined with WeeWheel’s state-of-the-art facilities, we’ve been working to teach our participants a new skill while giving them the same sense of freedom many of us felt with our first bike ride. The impact has been incredible–many participants graduated from newbies to confident bike riders in just a few weeks.

Read this year’s letter from Shep and explore our entire 2024 Impact Report. This has been a huge year of growth and empowerment for Beyond Boundaries and we’re excited to share it with you.

One of the best things about our programming is the new skills that participants learn along the way. From developing as paddlers to learning to belay or fish, our participants can carry the skills they learn into their personal lives. For 2024 Volunteer of the Year, Jennifer Taylor's passion for the water led her to become a fantastic volunteer and partner for Beyond Boundaries.

The Beyond Boundaries Trailblazers are the dedicated partners and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support our mission. Their time, energy, and resources have been instrumental in shaping the success of our programs, and we couldn’t do it without them. While we appreciate every person who contributes to our cause, we’d like to take a moment to recognize those who truly made a difference in 2024.

Join us in congratulating local legend Dave Swager, named 2024 Beyond Boundaries Volunteer of the Year. Dave is a seasoned climber, raft guide and adventurer, who can often be seen running the James River or on the walls at our local climbing gyms. Dave has been a stalwart supporter of Beyond Boundaries and has dedicated an incredible amount of time to our mission.

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.