GOALThe goal of Big City Mountaineers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is to provide urban teenage youth with challenging, safe outdoor experiences designed to build self-esteem and positively impact their beliefs about themselves and their relationship with others. HistoryFounded in 1989, Big City Mountaineers (BCM) provides urban teenage youth in need of positive adult mentoring with challenging, safe outdoor experiences designed to build self-esteem and positively impact their beliefs with regard to age/ethnic diversity, environmental awareness, and interpersonal relationships. As a result of their BCM experience, these teens become better equipped to make critical career, educational and healthy lifestyle decisions. Historically, the basic format of the BCM program has been an eight-day backcountry wilderness trip - coordinated in partnership with a pre-existing youth development organization - during which five teens are matched with five volunteer adult mentors. Following an age and gender-specific curriculum, the trip offers a potentially life-changing experience that becomes a metaphor for the challenges these teens experience on a daily basis. In the words of one participant: Life is like these hills. You hit your high point and your low but you look into yourself to draw strength and carry on. If I ever hit another really low point in my life, I can draw on my self-confidence to bring myself up again. Since BCM's first mentoring outing nearly 20 years ago, we have grown into the country's leading, mentor-based outdoor program for inner-city teens.
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