Programs

Our Programs

Julie’s Dream seeks to overcome the barriers that prevent youth from low-income communities from experiencing the transformative power of the outdoors. Julie’s Dream currently partners with several Atlanta nonprofit organizations who serve children in under-resourced communities in Atlanta. Through these partnerships, Julie’s Dream has provided dozens of outdoor adventures ranging from local hikes to rafting the Nantahala River to backpacking in Colorado.

During the academic year, we serve our youth on weekends with frequent day and overnight programs.  We follow the Atlanta Public Schools calendar, and during Fall, Winter, and Spring Breaks, we provide extended overnight programs for our youth in middle and high school.  Our summers are packed full with day camps and extended overnight adventures.  For our children in grades 3 through 6, we provide weeks of “Adventure Camp” – a day camp filled with activities like hiking in Sweetwater Creek State Park, climbing the ropes course at Treetop Quest, and canoeing on the Chattahoochee.  For our older youth, we venture outside of Atlanta to places far and wide – the Rocky Mountains, the coasts and rivers of Maine, western North Carolina, coastal Georgia, and so much more!  These “capstone” summer adventures allow our youth to spread their wings and broaden their horizons, and to use the skills they have developed during the school year.

Julie’s Dream focuses on providing awe-inspiring outdoor adventures and wilderness experiences due to the profound impact these experiences have on every aspect of child well-being, including mental, physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health; and a child’s ecological literacy and stewardship of the natural world.  There is a growing body of research showing the incredible positive effects nature experiences can have on young people. Exposure to nature can help relieve depression and anxiety, boost concentration, improve social skills, improve academic performance, and even help heal trauma.

Through Julie’s Dream programs, our youth gain access to some of our country’s most beautiful natural surroundings and immerse themselves in nature. They develop self-confidence and gain a sense of accomplishment as they meet and exceed the high expectations set for them on these outdoor adventures.

Guiding Principles

Using Nature to Facilitate a Relationship with God. God is the creator of the universe, and we are made in his image.  Peace with God means an intimate relationship with God and the recognition of God as the source of all beauty, including nature.  Our programs use nature as the conduit to help us look to God for our source of peace and strength and to his son, Jesus, as the source of our salvation.   We believe the natural world is a gift for us to enjoy, appreciate and carefully maintain; not a possession to exploit and destroy.

Standing in the “Adventure Gap.” Julie’s Dream seeks to overcome the systemic barriers that inhibit youth from low-income communities from experiencing the transformative power of the outdoors. People of color have been underrepresented in the world of outdoor adventure, both in the media and in the national narrative, especially in technical activities such as mountain climbing. Often the history of outdoor leaders of color has been ignored and forgotten.  Julie’s Dream offers an entrée into outdoor recreation for those youth who may not have otherwise visualized themselves paddling a canoe or climbing a mountain and for those who may not have the financial means to do so.

Challenging and caring for our bodies. While not all our activities are strenuous, we believe that challenging ourselves physically outdoors is considered key to maintaining good health, developing resilience and self-esteem, and achieving a peaceful state of mind. By walking, biking, paddling, swimming, rafting, or propelling ourselves by other means, we immerse ourselves in the landscape and learn how to navigate it firsthand. We also believe in the importance of educating youth on the role of healthy food, proper hydration, and taking care of our bodies.

Nurturing a sense of awe and wonder.  Awe is critical to our well-being — just like joy, contentment‌ and love. Research shows it has tremendous health benefits that include calming down our nervous system and triggering the release of oxytocin.  The experience of awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that exceeds our current understanding of the world. It is the feeling of being overwhelmed by something larger than the self as we gaze into the stars or stand on the top of a mountain. God is the ultimate subject of awe, and He gives each of us the capacity for awe. This is the only way that we can truly see him.

Disconnecting to connect. Julie’s Dream programs are a time to put away electronics and turn off the distractions.  By allowing ourselves time to tune into nature, we relieve stress and connect with our friends and loved ones.

Goal setting while avoiding competition with others. Life is full of competition and comparisons – from school to organized sports to social media.  Our programs allow youth to challenge themselves but not in competition with their peers.  We encourage setting and achieving goals for the purposes of developing self-esteem and leadership skills.  By removing competition, we help shift the focus from “self” to God and others and facilitate finding our worth in Him.

Developing new skills. We aim to inspire a genuine curiosity about the natural world and a desire to learn useful skills through hands-on experience.  Outdoor programming naturally lends itself to developing leadership skills as well.  We provide the space and time for children to grow and develop into young leaders in their communities; and we envision a new generation of Atlanta youth who will have hope for a different future through a meaningful connection to God and to the outdoors. Our hope is that Julie’s Dream “graduates” will return as chaperones and leaders of future Julie’s Dream trips to continue the cycle of improving the lives of Atlanta children.

Keeping it simple. Our overnight programs are experiences and not vacations.  When not camping or backpacking, we seek accommodations that are simple, clean, safe, and comfortable – but not luxurious.  While camping or backpacking, we provide the equipment necessary to facilitate a comfortable and safe outdoor sleeping situation.

Facilitating preparation. Julie’s Dream maintains a gear bank of clothing and equipment to ensure that each child is prepared for the activities we provide for them.  We reuse our clothing items and equipment both to help remove the financial barrier to accessing the outdoors and to reduce our impact on the environment.

Developing a sense of place and broadening horizons. We find joy in everyday nature experiences locally and in the Southeast and in discovering awe-inspiring landscapes in other parts of our country.  With collaboration with our partners, we use place-based learning, an instructional approach that focuses on developing a sense of place and learning through exploring the local environment. We broaden horizons by providing opportunities to travel to other regions of the country for outdoor adventure and wilderness experiences.