River's Way In the News
River's Way Offering Challenges, Hope and Fellowship
BY ALLEN GREGORY
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Jan 27, 2005
BLUFF CITY - The leaders of River’s Way Outdoor Adventure Center have a noble mission.
For Justin Hale, the 30-acre Bluff City facility is all about fun.
"River’s Way is a blast," Hale said. "I have Cerebral Palsy and I’m in a wheelchair.
"I would have never dreamed of canoeing, rafting or climbing a 40-foot rock wall. But at River’s Way, I have done all that."
Since 1993, River’s Way has offered challenges, hope and fellowship for youth age 10-18.
The non-profit center, which receives funding from a variety of community organizations, works with around 1,000 participants per year from schools and agencies in the surrounding Bristol area.
"There will be 285 youth in our adventure incentive programs this spring," said Tom Hanlon, River’s Way longtime executive director. "We design our programs to make a difference for those who have disabilities or disadvantaged backgrounds."
Improved grades and social skills are the goals. However, the accomplishments go far deeper.
"We bring youth face-to-face with challenges that cannot be duplicated in the classroom," Hanlon said. "Those challenges range from team rafting, caving and climbing to backpacking, camping and canoeing.
"We have successfully adapted all of these programs for youth with disabilities."
Hanlon’s purpose is selfless and simple.
"Most kids from disadvantage families never get to participate in this type of programming due to the cost," Hanlon said. "River’s Way gives both sets of kids opportunities to experience moments of intense excitement, friendship and accomplishment in the outdoors."
The next challenge for Hanlon and the 16-person governing board at River’s Way is to construct a diamond circuit high-ropes course along with a pavilion.
"The Diamond Circuit Course, the centerpiece of our High Challenge for All project, is a high-ropes course that will provide us with the missing piece in our adventure programming," Hanlon said. "Imagine crossing a distance of 30 feet on two parallel cables seated on a trolley cart that you control. The only catch is that you are 25 feet in the air."
A three-level fund-raising project is currently underway.
"The Bristol Morning Rotary Club made a donation of $10,000. That provided us with a foundation to raise the additional $19,300 required to complete the project by April," Hanlon said. "We need help from individuals and businesses who are committed to the work we do for the community, and we’re hard at work in our fundraising.
"I am extremely excited about this project. Kids of all abilities, from all walks of life, deserve this kind of experience."
River’s Way was recently featured in a Journal of Therapeutic Wilderness Camping article.
Hanlon said he continually gains inspiration from watching participants overcome various challenges, then leave with a big boost in self-confidence.
"When a teenager with a disability climbs our tower or canoes on our lake, they realize that they are capable of significant achievement," Hanlon said. "The results can be very impressive when our participants apply that confidence to the challenges they face in everyday life."
According to Hale, the Bluff City facility offers a slice of paradise.
"Rivers Way gives me a chance to have fun and hang out with people my age," Hale said. "It’s a good time and lot of us stay in touch."
agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 669-2181.
River's Way Bringing Kids Together
BY EMILY NGO
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Thursday, July 29, 2004
BY ANDRE TEAGUE (Bristol Herald Courier)
BLUFF CITY – To the applause and cheers of onlookers below him, 15-year-old Wilt Greer scaled the 40-foot climbing wall in a matter of minutes.
"You saw me? I climbed way up there!" Wilt said, slapping his helmet excitedly.
Scott Banks, 18, of Kingsport followed suit. Reaching the summit of the wall, he seemed to forget about the walker that waited for him on the ground.
"Woo hoo!" Scott said, shrieking at the camp instructors and volunteers who pulled him in his harness.
Wilt, Scott and four other young people with disabilities such as autism, mental retardation and cerebral palsy celebrated the 14th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with a climbing-tower event Wednesday morning at River’s Way Outdoor Adventure Center.
They had been attending camp there for three days and two nights, taking advantage of opportunities to bowl, canoe, raft and climb.
"We adapt almost everything we do to someone with disabilities," said Tom Hanlon, who has been the executive director of River’s Way since it opened in 1993. "A lot of people don’t think about disabled kids and outdoor adventures together, but they can do just as much if not more."
River’s Way, a 30-acre nonprofit geared toward children with disabilities and children from disadvantaged backgrounds, features camps for various skill levels, including some that mix children with and without disabilities.
"It’s interaction that you don’t normally get in life," staff member Carson Rivers, 22, said of the inclusion programs. "We treat people with disabilities as people, not as the disabled."
Also present at the event were Grace Twomey and Debbie Abel, representatives of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.
In June, they attended a River’s Way camp with children associated with the department.
"We got to do things we’ve never done before," Abel, a rehabilitation teacher, said as a seeing-eye dog rested in the shade beside her. "They not only taught the kids things but expected things from them too. It fit into what we were teaching them."
Twomey said River’s Way draws together disabled children who ordinarily would not cross paths.
"Some of these kids live far apart," the orientation and mobility specialist said. "They may have heard about each other but wouldn’t get to meet until now."
Teenage volunteers at River’s Way said they, too, benefit from its hands-on philosophy.
Tye Bentley, 15, and his brother Ethan, 13, both of Mendota, Va., took turns climbing the wall themselves in between helping campers.
"I get to help everybody have a good time – people who don’t normally get to have a good time," Ethan said.
Clearly enjoying camp, Wilt and Scott asked for second tries at scaling the wall.
"I like this camp much more better," Scott said. "I want to try it out in the fall."
Their enthusiasm inspired another camper, Shanna Guode, 15, of Bristol Virginia, to climb again.
"OK," she said after pausing to check her harness. "I’m ready to go up again."
engo@bristolnews.com | (276) 669-2181