Volunteer Spotlight

Maurice and Laura Correa

Hello, our names are Laura and Maurice Correa. Chris asked us to write a little paragraph about our experience with Outdoor Outreach (OO) so far. We had been talking for a while of our desire to participate in some type of community program that did not have a very demanding schedule due to our work schedule. Well, this past spring, a friend of ours who volunteers with Outdoor Outreach brought up the fact that our love for kids and sports might be a great match for the activities that Outdoor Outreach provide to at-risk and underprivileged youth. The flexibility in OO’s activity schedule was a huge plus. After only a few minutes of listening to the program’s details, we were sold. We started volunteering for mountain biking and our participation has grown to surfing, snorkeling, spending time at the beach and camping trips with the kids, some activities which we had no experience whatsoever before. Maurice is now even helping with the enhancement and maintenance of the OO web site. The experience of dealing with the variety of different groups of kids has been exceptional. Although we will probably not change their lives with just one trip, every trip you can see a difference, a smile, a grain in the path of building and showing them that there is more in life than just the environment that surrounds them. For instance, one of the most rewarding trips was a snorkeling trip where a young boy was so scared that he almost was not able to participate since he could not even get past putting his face in the water with a mask on. After staying with him, patiently waiting, he felt comfortable enough to give it a go provided that he could hold onto one of us the entire time, tightly. As we swam back to shore in the end, he asked if he could swim the very last part alone. He did, and I do not know which one of us felt prouder! Thank you, Chris, for allowing us to be a part of this wonderful organization and giving us the opportunity to share in these rewarding experiences. We look forward to many more.