Experience the wonders of nature firsthand.

Build confidence and independence in a supportive, communal environment.

Explore and develop new skills and interests.

Form close bonds with staff and fellow program mates.

Continue learning to be successful in school and in life.

Develop a love of learning and increase the amount of time they spend reading and writing independently.

Trail Blazers counteracts the risk of school failure common among low-income and minority students. Through our award-winning Summer Outdoor Experiential Education Program, we have served more than 40,000 disadvantaged urban youth from New York and New Jersey.

The Summer Learning Loss
Particularly prevalent among low-income children, summer slide is the significant learning loss experienced by children during the summer months. Trail Blazers combats this slide by offering low-income children optimal summer enrichment. In our dynamic participatory learning environment, children develop the ability to relate what they learn in school to their own camp experiences. This setting benefits all children, especially those who have not succeeded in a traditional school environment. 

Our Participants
Trail Blazers participants are between the ages of 7 and 17 and come from all five boroughs of New York City and urban areas of New Jersey. Sixty percent of participants are African American, 24% are Latino, 8% are Caucasian, 1% are Asian American, and 6% come from a multiracial background. More than 82% of our participants live at or below the federal poverty line.

Program Objectives
Our objectives align closely with the New York and New Jersey State Learning Standards, which call for children to be able to read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation. We also utilize Reading Recovery-style education by incorporating literacy projects that promote effective individual student literacy progress. 

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