Spring Break 2025

Spring Break 2025 was action-packed!! We had a group of 20 girls who joined us for a week of outdoor adventure. On Monday, we visited Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing we learned fire-building, built shelters, took a ride on a thrilling girl-powered swing, threw some axes, and talked leadership. And this was just the beginning.

On Tuesday, we had half of the girls exploring a wild cave with PLAY Roanoke while the other half hiked Stiles Falls. Lots of mud was involved, as well as a very beautiful cave salamander. Both groups of girls showed great teamwork and patience as they challenged their bodies and minds, either underground or above it.

Wednesday was all about the wildlife! We visited Apple Ridge Farm to hunt for red-spotted newt salamanders (a fan favorite) and take on their low-ropes, team-building course. In the afternoon, Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanokevisited with some of their Ambassador Animals - Koda the big brown bat, Elvhiss the king snake, and a Jack Sparrow the kestrel. Seeing the sleeping bats in the cave yesterday followed by an awake and hungry bat today was a highlight!

Thursday included a hike to The Cascades for half of the girls while the other half explored the underground. Could we have asked for a more beautiful day for a hike? And every day is a great day to cave - the girls even made it to an underground lake today.

Finally, on Friday, we finished up Spring Break Camp on a high note (literally). We visited The Peaks Retreat & Adventure Center for rock wall climbing, archery, and zip-lining. Plus, we also had Boyd Pearman Photography with us to capture the highlights and record some participant interviews.

At the end of this week, we asked the girls to raise their hands if they had done something outside of the comfort zone, whether it be crawling through dark cave, climbing a 40 ft rock wall, or doing an on-camera interview. Every girl raised her hand and said YES, and they felt better for it.

Confidence is built outside of our comfort zones, and these girls definitely filled their “confidence cups” this week. We can’t wait for next year.