Over the years I have been involved with Elevation Outdoors this question has come up many times. As time passes we get asked this question less frequently, but it still comes up here and there.
The answer is always easy, passion. A passion for sport, a passion for helping others, a passion for youth, a passion for giving back to our community, and most of all wanting to share our passion with others in the hope it can make an impact on their lives like it has on ours. Every person that is involved with Elevation Outdoors does so because of a passion that lives within them. One of the first questions we ask any new volunteer that is interested in joining our team is why do they want to be involved with Elevation Outdoors. The number one answer we hear back from people is that they want to help introduce an activity they care about and that has helped shape them into the person they are today with the next generation of young people.
Our goal is to help young people in our community try new things and inspire them to find an activity that they can get excited about, that will give them the motivation to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning, not because they have to, but because they want to! We all have those friends that seem to be a bit crazy, the ones that are up before dawn to drive a couple hours in order to go play outside all day long, get home long after dark only to do it over again the next day. While many of us think they are crazy, we are willing to bet if you sit down to talk to them about those days their eyes will light up, the excitement in their voice will be apparent and their passion will be contagious.
That is what we want to show the young people that participate in our programs. That life is far more fulfilling when you have a passion. In life, there will be good times and there will be hard times. The good are made better and the hard can be a bit easier if through it all you have a burning passion that cannot be taken away. Having a bad day? Go for a mountain bike ride and all of a sudden things aren’t so bad. Just got some great news? Let’s go snowboarding this weekend to celebrate! For us here at Elevation Outdoors it is for activities like snowboarding, sailing, rock climbing and mountain biking. For others, it can be drawing, acting, running or travelling. What is truly important is that each young person is provided with an opportunity to experience new things and allowed to find that one thing, or three things, that will instil them with a passion that makes life worth living. Finding that passion can give a person motivation to succeed in other area’s of life because it will allow them to spend more time doing what they love. It can give a person a sense of purpose and drive that will last a lifetime.
So why do we do what we do? It’s in our blood, it’s in our hearts, it’s what gets us out of bed every day, if we did not share our passion with others we would not be staying true to ourselves.
We hope that everyone can find that thing in their lives that keeps them going and helps them lead an inspired, healthy life.
Want to share your passion with us? Get in touch at [email protected].