Gain Your Outside Perspective

Outside Perspectives has partnered with The Youth Excellence Project since 2015. They have brought countless kids out on transformative wilderness expeditions, year after year, and witnessed the positive effects on the youth who benefit from this partnership. We want to Spotlight YEP and why working together just makes sense. The inspiration for The Youth Excellence Project (YEP), came to Damion Grasso after a friend and fellow foster parent took a group of foster children out to Montana. The intention of the trip was to immerse the kids in the great outdoors—to encourage them to open up to new experiences in beautiful natural surroundings (sound familiar?). The experience was so impactful for one boy that he would eventually go on to pursue a career with the National Parks Service. For one young life, a new trajectory had been illuminated by this group trip, and Damion saw life-changing potential in the opportunity to plant the seeds of aspiration and resilience in groups of at-risk t...