by Colleen M. Quinn

Imagine spending a week camping in Colorado’s striking Poudre Canyon, horseback riding and rafting by day, eating around a campfire and laughing with friends by night. There is fresh air, the summer sun, and abundant wildlife to take in. The sights and sounds of the Laramie River Valley surround you for an entire week.

This may sound like an advertisement from a travel brochure, but for many youth in Larimer County, Colorado, this is a trip that they can enjoy fully and will likely help make a positive impact on their lives. This is a trip organized by the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous , an adventure camp for at-risk youth in Fort Collins and surrounding Larimer County in Colorado. For a week each summer, the Rendezvous program offers a week of hiking, horseback riding, rafting, and other activities near Colorado’s Poudre Canyon, and west of Highway 14.

The Laramie River Valley Rendezvous was started in 1984 by an officer of the Fort Collins Police Department. This officer often saw kids and teens getting into trouble, struggling with peer pressure, and dealing with problems at home. He thought that giving these local kids the opportunity to do something different might help them to make good decisions. As a result, Laramie River Valley Rendezvous was born and has been making a huge difference to local youth for more than twenty years.

The founding officer saw this as a great way to get kids to connect with police officers beyond just their uniform, and for both officers and youth to understand each other a little more, says Officer Bob Younger of the Fort Collins Police Department. The Rendezvous program was supported by the Fort Collins Police Department until 2005, when it had to make the decision to stop funding it.

“This essentially shut down the program,” says Younger, who had started working with the program four years earlier.

So that year, Younger took over the responsibility of the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous, making it an entity separate from the police department and turning it into a non-profit organization. Many police officers still volunteer their time for the summer week that the camp runs, although they are now joined by firefighters, members of the National Guard, medical professionals, and civilians who all make the Rendezvous possible.

Younger says that the goal of the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous is to get kids connected with people in law enforcement in a positive way, and develop long-term relationships with youth who might need a little push in the right direction. Younger says he still knows campers who he met his first year with the camp in 2001.

“They still come to talk to me and say ‘Hi,’ and they feel comfortable talking with me,” he says. He credits that to the time he spent with them in the program.

Many of the youth that come to the Rendezvous camp are at a crossroads in their lives, says Younger. They are kids and teens who are still developing their self-esteem and sense of self, dealing with peer pressure, and learning how to make decisions, good or bad. And for most of them, the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous provides them their first positive experience with law enforcement, Younger says.

“The National Guard puts on a counter-drug program throughout the week,” Younger says. “It’s a way to show kids that they can have fun without drugs, and what kinds of relationships they can have outside of [drugs].”

He also says that it’s not uncommon for the Rendezvous to be a kid’s first experience setting up camp, horseback riding, or mountain biking. The sense of accomplishment and self-reliance that comes from those first-time experiences is invaluable.

“Some kids may come to this camp with a certain idea of who they are. But then they find what it’s like to camp and pitch a tent, and that changes their whole outlook on life and themselves,” says Younger.

Aspects like a counter-drug program may get a parent’s or teacher’s seal of approval, but it’s the adventure and the great outdoors that hooks many kids. Whitewater rafting, mountain, hiking, and camping are just a few of the events pursued during the day. In the evenings, the Rendezvous offers even more activities for campers. This year there will be an obstacle course, a capture-the-flag game organized by the National Guard, presentations on a wolf rescue program and Laramie River Valley history, and a dance complete with DJ.

Younger says that there’s more to the Rendezvous than just the week spent in the woods. “We want to be able to connect with those campers beyond the one week,” he says. To do that, Younger is planning on holding smaller events throughout the summer, including movie nights and picnic dinners. It’s about keeping up the relationships that are forged during the Rendezvous’ week in the woods.

Younger knows this firsthand after becoming friends with a camper in 2006. Younger and his wife are now the boy’s mentors, spending about three hours every Sunday with him; they’re also now good friends of the boy’s family. “We want these campers to know that if you need us, we’re always here for you,” he says.

With all that it has to offer kids, it’s easy to see why the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous is so valuable to at-risk youth. Some of the campers are referred to the program by schools and law enforcement agencies, and others come through word-of-mouth. There are lots of reasons a kid might come for the camp, but Younger says that what campers have in common is that they’re going through something difficult. One camper might come from a single-parent home, while another may be adjusting to the divorce of their parents or a newly blended family.

The Rendezvous is a place “For anyone who may be at a crossroads, in decision making,” says Younger.

Each year, the Rendezvous sees between 40 and 50 campers for the week-long excursion. And as a volunteer-based organization about 30 volunteers also make the trip, which means a 1:2 ratio of volunteers to campers. In addition to police officers, many firefighters, National Guard members, and medical personnel join the effort to make the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous possible.

They organize and lead activities, ensure the safety of campers, and even do the cooking. “We even have our own kitchen,” says Younger. The kitchen operates out of a semi trailer and uses another entire trailer to store food. A firefighter regularly cooks three meals a day for campers and volunteers, except for the day that the National Guard provides ready-to-eat meals for campers, which are the same foods the soldiers eat in the field. “The kids love that,” Younger says.

As a non-profit organization, the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous is possible solely through volunteers and monetary donations. Families are not charged anything to have their children and teens participate in the program, although Younger says that sometimes a family is so grateful for the experience that they make a donation. He estimates it costs about $470 per camper for the whole week, which is still less than the cost of an average vacation when food, equipment, and activities are figured in.

The Rendezvous has attracted much local attention, which means that it’s able to continue in its mission to provide a truly wonderful experience for at-risk youth. Every June, an event called the Bar Olympics is held to raise money for the Rendezvous. Local restaurants and businesses around Fort Collins enter teams of employees to compete in a variety of contests, and can even “bribe” judges to win. It’s a fun event for everyone who participates, and Younger says that the generosity of the businesses is great.

“They give freely because they know it’s not about making money. There’s definitely that sense of supporting our youth,” he says.

The Laramie River Valley Rendezvous grows every year, says Younger, and he’s hoping that next year the organization will be able to hold an additional week later in the summer. Another goal is to eventually provide scholarships for college, and be able to provide campers with equipment of their own, so their outdoor ventures can continue once they arrive back home.

The longevity of the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous and the changes in the lives of campers is more than apparent. Many campers have returned to the Rendezvous as volunteers, helping out kids who are in the same place they were years ago. Many more campers have made some genuinely positive changes in their lives, motivated by their experiences with the Rendezvous.

Younger recalls one girl who, before taking part in the program, had several run-ins with the police and was just a few steps from being removed entirely from the public school system, so extensive were her troubles. She went on to graduate high school and did a mission trip to Peru her senior year; she returned to the Rendezvous as a volunteer, giving a presentation on her Peru experience. Another camper eventually became a staff member explorer for the police department, graduated from college with a degree in music, and recently got married.

“These are kids that could’ve fallen through the cracks,” Younger says.

The Rendezvous is often the factor standing between kids and falling through those cracks. With the volunteers and the local support of Fort Collins, the Laramie River Valley Rendezvous spreads an attitude that Younger believes is vital for the success of kids in any community. “People should know that it’s easy to make a difference in a kid’s life, even without an organization like the Rendezvous.”

Too often, he says, teens are incorrectly judged on their appearance or apparent attitude, and adults don’t take the time to get to know them. “There’s this idea that teens ‘have already decided’ what they’re going to do with their lives, so why bother?” Younger says, when actually they’re still making that decision.

“Think back to the adults that made a difference to you when you were a teen,” he says. “It probably wasn’t always a parent – maybe a teacher or a coach. It’s not always who you expect, but to be listened to, to be appreciated by an adult … that changes lives.”

Colleen Quinn graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Mass Communication. A writer for most of her life, she has been writing for Whisperingtree.net for over two years. In that time, she’s had the opportunity to meet with many practitioners and masters of the healing arts. Using her years of customer service experience and time as an intern reporter, Colleen provides a unique means of expression for each practitioner she meets. She believes that honest interest and open ears are paramount for learning and understanding the world around us. Through her writing, Colleen offers readers a valuable insight into the work of those who are doing so much to help others.