3 weeks Ago
Nonprofit Teens to Trails’ 10th Bow Ties and Bean Boots fundraiser April 3 at L.L.Bean headquarters in Freeport will be remembered as the one with the line dancing: the “Bean” Boot Scootin’ Boogie accompanied by cover band Lily in the Weeds.
The 220 guests also enjoyed charcuterie and oysters, local beverages, boot decorating, a gear raffle and an outdoorsy-themed auction. In partnership with teachers who volunteer as club advisors, Teens to Trails provides grants, gear, trips and outdoor leadership training to introduce more young people to outdoor adventures such as hiking, biking, rock climbing, rafting, canoeing, kayaking and camping. Bow Ties and Bean Boots had more than a dozen corporate sponsors — led by L.
L.Bean, Martin’s Point Health Care and Zachau Construction — and raised $62,000 to support outdoor clubs at middle and high schools across the state. “Experiences in nature allow people to discover what they’re more capable of—and it’s more than we think,” said Youth Advisory Council member Nora Congdon, a senior at Edward Little High School in Auburn.
Jayden Thatcher reminisced about joining a four-day canoe trip with her outing club at Mount Abram Regional High School when she was a freshman. “I’d never been on such a rigorous, exciting and downright fun adventure,” she said. “I’ve learned that the outdoors bring me peace and a sense of belonging.
Now that I’m a senior and in leadership roles in my outdoor club and classes, I’ve seen that the outdoors has positive impacts on other people, too. Everyone should be able to have an experience like this.” Sandy Colhoun, president of the National Outdoor Leadership School, agrees.
“Our kids need to go out into the wilderness and experience a challenge, some adversity, find some grit — and in that resilience they grow as human beings,” he said. “That’s what Teens to Trails does throughout the state of Maine.” Teens to Trails is the legacy of Sara Leone, a Wiscasset outing club member who died in a car accident in 2005 when she was 15.
To honor her memory, Sara’s parents Carol and Bob Leone and older sister Lindsay started supporting outdoor clubs 19 year ago. Today, the resulting nonprofit Teens to Trails supports more than 2,000 outdoor club members at 70 schools statewide. “Sometimes we can take Maine — our incredible mountains, rivers and coastline — for granted,” said Executive Director Alicia Heyburn.
“We want to encourage Maine kids to get outside and realize that it feels good to be outdoors.” Maine middle schools can sign up for Teens to Trails’ annual Life Happens Outside Challenge , May 9-16. Students and staff clock as many minutes outside as they can, and the top three schools receive $1,000.
For more information, go to the website: teenstotrails.org Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer and editor based in Scarborough. She can be reached at a myparadysz@gmail.
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