Summer Guide Training!

We are now accepting applications for our 2012 program.

Contact us if you’d like more information.

Eleven Incredible Days

At Project Great Outdoors guide training, adventure will seek you. Each day, you will stand at the edge of what you know, and take a step forward. You will risk trusting your team, and be rewarded.  You will grow new muscles, build new skills, and experience new wonder for the twin powers of nature and nurture.

And that’s only the beginning of the voyage. As a Project GO! guide, you will share your strengths, your steps, and boatloads of fun with a great community of diverse volunteers and young people eager for the thrills, challenges, and pro-social bonding included in every day of white water rafting.

Who We Are, Who You Are

Project Great Outdoors (GO!) is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization providing affordable outdoor adventures for youth from low-income communities since 2000. We are seeking to train individuals who welcome the challenges and rewards of working with youth living in difficult environments and enjoy outdoor activities. No prior boating experience is required.

What You’ll Get

In eleven days, we will teach you the basics of

·         guiding an inflatable raft

·         reading Class II & III water

·         commanding a crew

·         safety and rescue techniques

·         teaching and learning with youth from disadvantaged backgrounds

·         the basic methodology and philosophy of experiential education

·         how to run an efficient river camp

·         the logistics of a day on the river

We’ll train on the South Fork of the American River, staying at adeveloped campground with showers and a small general store. We provide gear, food, snacks, instructors, trainers, and comprehensive curriculum binders. You’ll share in the preparation & clean-up of delicious meals (vegetarian fare always available), and provide your own transportation to the rivers and for shuttling people and gear (carpooling often available).

What’s It Cost?

Project GO! does not make money from our guide training. (Getting you on board is reward enough.) The training fee equals the cost of food, river use & camping permits, and some transportation, divided by the number of participants. This year that works out to only $500. (Scholarship funds may be available: contact us for details.)

What’s Next?

After training, you’ll be ready to participate in Project GO! youth group trips. This does not mean you will be solo guiding a boat full of teenagers. You will guide in partnership with Project GO!’s Senior and Head Guides, and have available to you many additional low or no-cost training opportunities to nail down your new skills. In order to guide a boat, you must have current certification in Basic First Aid and CPR. We strongly encourage you to become certified (or renew lapsed certification) prior to training.

Want In?

We have established the dates of our 2012 training: June 23rd and 24th and June 30th -July 8th.

To apply, simple email answers to the following to training@projectGO.org

1) What’s your Name, Address, Phone Number and Email Address?

2) Tell us a little about yourself and why you’d like to be involved.

3) Could you contribute a little extra to Project GO in order to help sponsor another participant who has everything to offer except money? (your answer to this has no bearing on our decision to accept you)