The Adventure Guides program at the Windward YMCA launches parents and their children on a journey of discovery, with the child as the explorer and the parent as the guide. Adventure Guides encourages fathers to get to know your kid while your kid is still a kid. The program is designed so fathers and their children are able to spend uninterrupted time together as members of a larger group, building lifelong memories and bonds. Through activities such as weekend camping trips, games, ceremonies and family adventures, dad and child will create memories that neither will ever forget.

Goals & Benefits

The Windward Y Adventure Guides program will:

• Foster companionship and understanding and set a foundation for positive, lifelong relationships between father and child.
• Build a sense of self-esteem and personal worth.
• Expand awareness of spirit, mind, and body.
• Provide the framework to meet a mutual need of spending enjoyable, constructive, and quality time together.
• Enhance the quality of family time.
• Emphasize the vital role that parents play in the growth and development of their children.
• Offer an important and unique opportunity to develop and enjoy volunteer leadership skills.

Foundation & Values

• The Compass provides direction for the Friends Forever program.
• The Family is True North – the focal point of the program
• Nature and the camping experience are an integral part of the program teaching respect for nature and oneself
• The spirit of the program is experienced through belonging to a small Community of “circles”
• Fun is the magic of the program
• The Y's core values provide direction as parents guide children on their journey. Along the way adults should model, teach and demonstrate these values as well as give children many opportunities to practice and celebrate them. Initially, these four values provide guidance in helping children select activities, make decisions, and choose appropriate courses of action both in the program and in their lives.

Core Values

• Caring
• Honesty
• Respect
• Responsibility