Surfrider Spirit Sessions Mission
Surfrider Spirit Sessions is an IRS 501(c)(3) Hawai‘i non-profit organization that aims to create and deliver holistic, ocean-based experiential education, mentoring programs and activities that connect, enhance, and fill in the gaps within existing nonprofit programs serving adjudicated, at-risk, or vulnerable youth, and to teach ocean awareness, environmental sensitivity and Hawaiian culture to the general community.
Surfrider Spirit Sessions Philosophy
We don’t see “at-risk”… we see future champions and leaders
We believe our youth are “Champions in Training,” and we are coaches who support them, push them when needed, and cheer them on to succeed in school, at home, at work, in the community, and in life. We call our teens “Champions in Training” because we’ve seen their passion and spirit, and we know they thrive on challenges. We see their potential and know what they can do.
The teens we serve have the innate capacity to be powerfully positive leaders
Our kids are strong and courageous; they have endured challenges and encountered obstacles the average person will never see in his or her entire lifetime. They’ve suffered setbacks, and have sometimes found themselves “on the wrong side of the tracks” headed in the wrong direction. Yet they have survived. They have the resilience and power to overcome hardships, redirect their lives, and lead others towards positive change.
The judge and my probation officer told me the same thing, but I didn’t believe them. They get paid to tell me what to do and they only care about the rules. But if you’re telling me the same thing, it must be true. You guys wouldn’t steer me wrong.” ~ Kai
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this program! I feel like I’m on top of the world!” ~ Nora
