Community support is a vital component of accomplishing our mission. With partners like Tom Wilcox, Director of Engagement at the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources we’re able to provide more adventures, build our community, and support our participants. However, the magic really happens when our partners are able to experience their own shifts in perspective and grow alongside us. Our longtime partner, advocate, and friend Tom, is the perfect example of this.

As the parents of three boys with autism, Kate and her husband Gary have worked incredibly hard to create a lifestyle centered around the outdoors and adventure. After connecting with the Autism Society of Central Virginia, the Fletchers were later introduced to Beyond Boundaries, joining us on a hike as their first family adventure.

Meeting Branden for the first time was a memorable experience. He arrived on a fishing trip with Jacob’s Chance bursting at the seams. For him, being able to go fishing was a dream that had yet to come true and he was more than ready to seize the opportunity.

Chances are; if you’ve been on a trip with Beyond Boundaries you’ve encountered the smiling face and boisterous energy of our 2022 Volunteer of the Year–Lisa. Lisa’s energy, relentless dedication to Beyond Boundaries, and great attitude are a part of what makes our trips so special. She’s always willing to dive in and has even been whitewater-certified to further support us on trips. When she’s not joining us on adventures, Lisa works at Radford University, fishes, and explores Virginia’s numerous wildlife management areas.

With a new venue, a new logo from TrailHead Creative, and beautiful weather- this year’s R.I.M.B.Y. fest was one of our most successful to date. We were so excited to host such an amazing group of vendors, connect with our community and spend time with friends. The music from Mackenzie Roark set the perfect atmosphere for our events, and it was great seeing face-painted kiddos bouncing around on the rafts provided by RVA Paddlesports.

Janie is a 30-year-old adventurer based around Richmond. She’s often referred to as the ‘poster girl’ of Beyond Boundaries because of her shining smile and her incredible ability to be up for literally any adventure, any time. She’s done it all, from climbing to white water rafting to skiing.

We’re so excited to preview our new brand video created by SIX10 Media right here! Thanks to Chris and team for helping us put this together!

After postponing the original date for 2023 because of heavy storms and wind, we’re proud to announce that our RIMBY (Right In My BackYard) festival will be kicking off in a little over 3 weeks.

It’s Women’s History Month! March is a time to recognize the contributions of women throughout history and celebrate their accomplishments in various fields. This year, we’re focusing on bringing more visibility to five incredible women with disabilities that had a huge impact on action sports, conservation, and the outdoors. These five women are truly just a small sampling of the amazing women everywhere that are literally changing the world on a daily basis.

Meet Kyle, co-founder of Beyond Boundaries and lover of the outdoors. Kyle and Shep worked together to create Beyond Boundaries 8 years ago with the goal of making the outdoors more accessible to everyone. Over the years Kyle has helped build Beyond Boundaries as a facilitator and supporter.

Travis is our Program Manager in Roanoke. As we’ve been expanding this year, we’ve been super excited to be able to start offering programming in places outside of the greater Richmond region. Travis is spearheading our Roanoke operations. He’s an experienced climber, paddler, and outdoor enthusiast and we’re super excited to have him lead trips the season and beyond!

Katie is our Program Director. She oversees all of the programming for Beyond Boundaries and it’s likely you’ll see her on a trip. In just the short year that she’s been with us, she’s had a huge impact, helping to create the Adventure Guides program and spearheading several other initiatives to make it even easier to adventure with us.

Sara is our new Internal Operations coordinator. She had the privilege of first working with BB in the summer of 2021 through RVA Paddlesports, where she helped coordinate kayaking and rafting adventures.

The gear we use plays a crucial role in facilitating adventures. From kayaking to climbing, a lot of what we do requires us to use the specialized gear. Unfortunately in a lot of cases, that gear is not suited to the needs of our participants. Over the years, we’ve discovered adaptable solutions, specialized equipment, and even ways to make homemade modifications to allow even more people to get out on trips and enjoy the outdoors. Take a look below at some of the adaptive gear that we use to make sure adventure is for everyone.

Shep is the Director and Co-Founder of Beyond Boundaries. He started Beyond Boundaries over 8 years ago with partner co-founder Kyle Burnette. It’s his vision, drive, and energy that help bring our community together on a daily basis.

Meet Alek, our new program director! Alek will be helping us manage programming and facilitate trips. He loves whitewater kayaking and skiing and chompin' on burritos. ⁠

This year we’re proud to announce the introduction of our new Adventure Guides program. Adventure Guides are the trained volunteers that make Beyond Boundaries’ programming so special. These volunteers give of their time and energy to accompany us on trips and ensure that our participants have an incredible adventure.

Join us at Vasen brewery, Tuesday, December 6, from 5 to 8 for our second annual gear and beer! Sell, buy, and trade outdoor gear. Want to make some extra cash for the holidays? Need to get rid of some old gear to make room for new gear? Join us on Dec 6th!⁠

10% of all sales donated back to Beyond Boundaries.⁠

Over the course of nine weeks this fall, our team participated in the Thrive Non-profit Accelerator at the Spark Mill. This course is designed to “provide an opportunity to look beyond current challenges and obstacles and plan out a direct and streamlined path forward. Organizations will spend concentrated time planning and executing real-time solutions with guided facilitation.” Our leadership team took this opportunity to plan for 2023 and talk about some of the challenges we currently face in real-time.

We have great respect for those that have served our country and are proud to partner with several veteran organizations to help support their missions. One of those organizations is Veterans and Athletes United. This unique organization focuses on empowering injured and ill veterans by providing outdoor adventures, accessible retreats, and job counseling. Over the last couple of years, we’ve been lucky enough to take several of their groups on rafting, kayaking, and climbing trips. Recently, we spoke with VAU’s President & Army veteran James Howard about the impact Beyond Boundaries has had on their organization.