FIRST DESCENTS UPDATE

Wow. Seriously, WOW! So much has been going on this year at First Descents (www.firstdescents.org) and it's only February. :) For those of you who don't know, First Descents is a non profit organization that provides free outdoor adventure programs (including whitewater kayaking) to young adults (18-39) with cancer. I'm proud to say that Dagger and Confluence have been long time supporters of FD and have signed on for another great year.

Here is the low down on young adult cancer in the US. 70,000 young adults are diagnosed each year. It's the most under-served demographic of cancer, it hasn't seen an increase in cure rates in over 30 years and it's a very disconnected population facing unique psychosocial issues. Cancer often strips these young adults of their identify, self confidence and leaves them feeling isolated and that is where FD comes in.

I don't need to tell you kayakers how powerful and life enhancing kayaking can be not to mention the friendships the river creates. That's exactly what we offer these young adults. Kayaking and outdoor adventure in general restore so much of what cancer takes. That's why these programs work.

The reason for telling you all of that is to tell you this- First Descents has proudly enhanced the lives of over 600 young adults fighting and surviving cancer in 10 years. Last year we hosted 9 weeks of programming in 6 states but sadly, we still had to turn away about 100 applicants. If you've ever had to tell someone living with cancer that they can't attend a program, it's enough to make you kick yer own butt into gear and make more room. That's exactly what we did! We made some big changes in an effort to expand. First of all, we moved to Boulder, CO from Vail in an effort to reach more people, work with interns (free labor) and have a bigger hiring/donor pool. In addition to our programs in Montana and Washington, we also added programming in Moab, UT and Estes Park, Colorado. We also added 6 weeks to our schedule taking it from 9 to 15 weeks of free programming this year.

Obviously none of this would have been possible without the support of thousands generous people and for that I thank you all! That said, we're not there yet. We still need everyone's help to pull this off. It's our chance to give back the lifestyle we love so much so that others can use it to heal. Here's what you can do to help:

1. PLEASE go to this link and sign up to receive updates from FD. These updates will include information about events such as Eddy Flower's Vertical Challenge, Climbing for Cancer, TEAM FD and various other FD events as well as volunteer needs. http://www.firstdescents.org/receive-fd-updates

2. Follow us on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/yhlqwzu

3. Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/FirstDescents

4. Please tell anyone you know between the ages of 18 and 39 who has or ever has had cancer about the free programs FD offers!

Thank you all so much for making this stuff happen!

Happy days to all!

Brad Ludden