For Ryan McCrary, a seminal moment occurred last summer on a rock climbing expedition with a group of teens.
"When you've got a kid hanging off a 90-foot cliff, and you're the only thing supporting them, they learn to trust you pretty quickly," he recalls.
He's referring to an outing sponsored by Great Outdoors Adventure Trips, a local nonprofit that's adopted the playful acronym, GOAT. Its architects are a group of young adults inspired by mutual passions for their Christian faith and the great outdoors to better the lives of disadvantaged inner city youth.
At the center of this story is McCrary, a 25-year-old Clemson graduate and experienced outdoorsman and rock climber whose Grizzly Adams-style brown beard can't disguise a cheerful enthusiasm.
After graduating from Clemson in 2007 with a degree in graphic communications, McCrary moved to Spokane,Washington, where he interned with Peak 7. Founded by another Clemson alumnus, the faith-based, nonprofit ministry sponsors wilderness adventures for youth.
Such initiatives, whether rooted in organized religion or not, have a solid track record of success. Research conducted by a variety of organizations, including the American Camping Association, show that outdoor environmental programs improve self-confidence, life skills and character formation among young people from various backgrounds.
Abby Sprau, a public schoolteacher who doubles as a GOAT board member and volunteer, admits she's witnessed more teamwork and mutual encouragement on wilderness trips than she's ever seen in her fifth grade classroom. "Especially when (participants are) out of their comfort zone, you really get to know who they are," she says.
McCrary, who grew up near Columbia canoeing and backpacking with his father and has volunteered with church youth groups, found Peak 7 a natural fit. He was especially moved by the transformative effect that a weekend of whitewater rafting, rock climbing, hiking and camping could have on low-income kids who had never before set foot in a wilderness location.
After eight months in the Pacific Northwest, McCrary came home and settled in Greenville. He worked for an ad agency for a time, but the seed of his eventual calling had already begun to germinate.
In January of last year he quit his job and founded GOAT with $1,000 worth of outdoor gear, $150 in the bank and zero financial support. "It was on a prayer-literally," he says. "I just felt it was what I was supposed to do."
Others concurred. "I thought it was the most perfect fit for his life of anything I could think of," says Sean Gaffney, a friend and local Web developer who quickly agreed to serve on the board and volunteer.
Three other McCrary friends and his father, Bill McCrary, joined the board as well - all of them outdoor enthusiasts who share a commitment to mentoring youth.
After McCrary sent out a newsletter to family and friends introducing GOAT, contributions began to trickle in. By last April, he managed to pay himself a meager salary-just enough to cover his expenses.
Last summer GOAT arranged a series of outdoor adventures with church youth groups and human service agencies that work with at-risk youth.
Bryan Hayes, program director for the local Salvation Army Boy's and Girl's Club, was among those who signed on. Hayes, who is always looking for programming to keep his young people stimulated, found GOAT consistent with his organization's goals for teaching "life lessons." It also provided outdoor equipment, meals, skilled leadership and scholarship assistance his budget could never afford. (Eighty percent of participants pay no fees.)
For McCrary, the Salvation Army Boy's and Girl's club demographics perfectly matched his target audience.Hayes estimates that 95 percent of his members receive subsidized school lunches, many come from single parent families, and virtually none had ever imagined an adventure the likes of which the GOAT crew had cooked up for them.
Throughout last summer,McCrary and his team of about 20 volunteers led small groups of teens on overnight outdoor adventures. To teach leadership, participants were expected to lead hikes, read maps, set up their own tents and help prepare meals.
After one outing, a group leader commented that it was the best behaved he had ever seen one of histroubled kids. At the end of another, a boy with a reputation for negativity asked when he could return.
McCrary believes the concept works because it removes at-risk teens from the distractions - in some cases chaos - of their everyday existence and allows them to contemplate who they really are against the backdrop of nature's splendor. "We tell them the first night, 'You're 25 miles from anything,'" he says.
Sprau contends exposure to outdoor activities encourages participants to try something new, push their limits and experience a sense of accomplishment. For Gaffney, it's about building trusting relationships with adults.
Yet it's not just the teens who gain a fresh perspective. Adult volunteers come away from the experience saying they feel "humbled."
McCrary says he's been struck by how often and how casually the young people talk about a family member who was murdered. Many have been abandoned by a parent. "I've never experienced what these kids have experienced," he says.
GOAT is planning another series of wilderness adventures for this summer. Longer-term, McCrary hopes to form teen groups that meet regularly. He's also submitted a grant proposal with a goal to build an indoor climbing gym to train a new generation of urban rock climbers.
For more on Great Outdoor Adventure Trips, visit, www.goattrips.org.
