Donating to First Descents

19 Strangers. 6 Days. Unlimited Stoke. Summer camp for adults absolutely rocks.

Would you go to a summer camp as an adult? I had never considered it but my week living the First Descents lifestyle has me wishing for more. I volunteered with First Descents as a photographer for a week this summer and it changed my life.

I took close to 6,000 photos, climbed a handful of routes, ate my body weight in popcorn, and danced for hours like nobody was watching. For a week straight.

My Experience

I don’t want to say too much so I don’t spoil any surprises or overhype any expectations, but I want to share a little bit about my week volunteering with First Descents.  FD is a nonprofit organization focused on providing oncology patients, MS patients, caregivers, and healthcare workers with an opportunity to escape the real world for a week and live life to the absolute fullest. Currently they offer kayaking, surfing, and rock climbing camps.

During the camps, there are a handful of staff and volunteers, including chefs, a photographer and medical volunteer. The participants (my week had 12 participants) get to try new adventure activities; eat healthy; connect with like-minded individuals and individuals who have similar backgrounds/stories; disconnect for a few days.

When I arrived, I didn’t know what to expect. I was a bit anxious about the experience and nervous that I wasn’t going to get the perfect photos. What I didn’t realize going in was that none of that mattered – what I walked away with was a better understanding of myself, my colleagues, and a reinvigorated focus on living my best life and setting healthy boundaries and expressing myself more honestly.  

As the volunteer photographer, I was responsible for taking photos, doing dishes, making sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying themselves, and keeping the energy up. I had a camera, drone, or phone camera always in hand – I took thousands of photos over the course of six days.  

I experienced the life I’ve always dreamt of – wake up early and watch the sun rise over the mountains, eat a healthy and filling breakfast, go hike to a crag and rock climb for seven hours, take photos of people doing a cool activity, get back and rest for a couple hours, eat an incredibly delicious dinner with fun conversations, enjoy a campfire with intentional conversations, go to bed and get 8-9 hours of sleep every night. Repeat.

The energy, growth, and strength of the participants during the camp was unparalleled. The room buzzed and the campfire felt brighter because of the conversations and moments shared.

Rock climbing was a ton of fun but more importantly, it was really inspiring to experience the growth over the week – the participants who had shown up as strangers were leaving as family. They climbed stronger and had more self confidence on the rock each day that passed. They shared passions and interests, expanding their horizons. They supported each other on the rock and motivated one another to push harder through the tough sections.

My personal experience was this:

• The food was out of this world – it was nutritious and wholesome food that included meat options, vegetarian options, healthy dessert, and alternatives if needed.
• I slept 8-9 hours every night, ate my veggies and all other portions of the food pyramid, laughed a healthy amount, exercised every day, and stayed off social media.
• I got to focus on my passions every day – being a photographer and rock climbing (being out in nature).
• Community was fostered and prioritized. 

It’s been a while since I have had a full, healthful day – balancing everything that society says is important for a healthy life (exercise, sleep, food, hobbies, rest, nature, laughter, smiling, joy, community, purpose). Since camp I haven’t had a day that checked off every one of these, and before camp it had been months since I checked off every one of these requirements in the same day. During camp I had this every day.  

Why This Matters

This week changed my life. I could see the impact that FD has had on the other staff and volunteers. And I am continuing to witness the positive influence that it is having on the participants from my camp.

I started On A Limb Apparel with the goal of starting a non-profit to help others experience the outdoors and adventure in a manner that stimulates personal growth and confidence through experiences.  I haven’t had time to start this non-profit, but First Descents complements my goal perfectly.

For the reasons above, I am donating a percentage of sales from 2024 to First Descents. While it won’t be a huge amount of money, I want to give back and help more people experience the life-changing nature of these camps.

If you want to make a difference, here are a couple options:

• Purchase our apparel to help fuel our mission and let us help more people and organizations like FD.
• Donate directly to First Descents.
• Volunteer for a First Descents camp (they need general volunteers, medical volunteer, photographer volunteer).
• Tell friends and family about the organization to spread more awareness and help raise more funds.
• Recommend the camp to eligible friends and family so they can experience the healing power of nature (cancer patients / MS patients / caregivers / healthcare workers).