Big City Mountaineers instills critical life skills in under-resourced youth through transformative wilderness mentoring experiences. One of BCM’s community partners in the greater Twin Cities area is Sisterhood Boutique, a community organization and social enterprise that brings together East African women and girls in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood of South Minneapolis for educational and community-oriented efforts. Together, BCM and Sisterhood Boutique make outdoor education – both after-school and expedition-style – available to girls in the community.
Doug Sandok
Big City Mountaineers
Following up on last year’s grant, The Cairn Project is proud to again support girls-only canoeing expeditions to the Boundary Waters organized by Big City Mountaineers and their educational and social service partners in the Twin Cities. A $5,000 grant is fully funding 5 scholarships for girls ages 13-18 on these week-long expeditions. BCM’s curriculum encourages students to co-create expedition goals, take on leadership of daily activities, take on appropriate challenges and construct their own meaning and interpretation from the experience. And for most of these young women, it’s their first time experiencing a world-class wilderness area in their greater backyard!