Founded over coffee more than 30 years ago at the Valley Green Inn, Philadelphia Outward Bound School continues to challenge students and inspire the city through programs like the recent “Building Adventure.”
When more than 120 Philadelphians rappelled 300 feet down Commerce Square last month for Building Adventure, they weren’t just raising funds for a good cause. They were continuing a legacy that began in Northwest Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Outward Bound School (POBS), the nonprofit behind the daring fundraiser, has deep roots in the Chestnut Hill area. Three of its founders, Nancy Goldenberg, of Mt. Airy, Tim Greenwood, of Wyndmoor, and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, helped launch the organization in 1992 with a bold vision: to bring Outward Bound’s life-changing outdoor education to city students who might never otherwise rappel down a cliff, paddle a canoe, sleep under the stars, or hike a mountain trail.
The idea took shape over a series of conversations and planning meetings at Valley Green Inn in Wissahickon Park. Just a short hike away from where POBS would later build its first and still-active ropes course, the founders outlined their goal of creating a Philadelphia-based program that would challenge young people to discover and adopt the principles of character, leadership, and community service through experiential outdoor education.
Goldenberg, inspired by mentoring a North Philadelphia teenager through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, saw firsthand the power of just a simple walk through the Wissahickon. Teaming up with Greenwood and Nutter, they helped establish a Philadelphia affiliate of the renowned Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, where Greenwood was a longtime board member. What began as a local experiment has since transformed thousands of young lives.
Since its founding, POBS has been guided by a network of Northwest Philadelphia leaders. Past board chairs Ludlow Miller, Jonathan Conant and Greenwood, all residents of the surrounding area, helped grow the organization into one of the region’s leading outdoor education providers. Today, POBS serves more than 7,000 students, educators, and veterans each year through wilderness expeditions and challenge-based programs designed to build courage, leadership, teamwork, and resilience.
“We believed that Philadelphia youth could benefit from the same transformative outdoor experiences as thousands of others have at the 34 international Outward Bound schools around the world,” Greenwood said.
Among POBS’s strongest local ties is its longstanding partnership with Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH), where the entire ninth grade class begins each school year with a five-day Outward Bound expedition. The experience sets the tone for high school, emphasizing teamwork, communication, and growth through challenge.
“Outward Bound has pushed me outside my comfort zone and helped me discover skills I didn’t know I had,” said Emma Hannigan, an SCH student who has taken two POBS expeditions and recently joined the school’s team in this year’s Building Adventure rappel. “It’s changed how I see myself and what I’m capable of,” Hannigan said.
Fellow SCH student Ted Giannone, who faced his fear of heights by rappelling during Building Adventure, echoed that sentiment. “It taught me what real teamwork means,” he said. “Nobody ever got anywhere by waiting. You just have to take the opportunity and go for it.”
Maggie Boozer Mutch, associate director of major gifts at SCH and also a participant in this year’s event, described Outward Bound as “an experience that challenges you to go beyond what feels comfortable or familiar,” and Building Adventure as “a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the city from a new perspective while supporting the next generation of young leaders.”
Now in its 10th edition, Building Adventure is Philadelphia Outward Bound’s signature fundraiser, challenging participants to raise at least $1,750 each to rappel down a Center City skyscraper in support of youth programming. This year’s event at Commerce Square featured more than 120 rappelers and raised over $250,000 to support programs for local students.
The SCH team’s participation was a full-circle moment, with students and staff who have grown through Outward Bound’s outdoor courses now helping to make the same opportunities possible for others.
As the ropes descended against the skyline, the event also paid quiet tribute to the vision that began over coffee and conversation at Valley Green Inn more than three decades ago.
“Outward Bound teaches us that we are capable of more than we think,” Goldenberg said, reflecting on the organization’s journey from an idea shaped in Northwest Philadelphia to a regional institution. “It’s wonderful to see the Chestnut Hill community continue to carry that spirit forward, on the trails, in the classroom, and even 300 feet above Market Street.”