A Message from Outward Bound USA’s Executive Director

Dear Outward Bound Community, With the rest of our country and the world, we watched Wednesday as shocking events unfolded at the nation’s Capitol, as a group of rioters violently disrupted what was meant to be the first steps in a peaceful transfer of power for our democracy. Wednesday’s events were disturbing, unprecedented and criminal,… READ MORE >

Partner Spotlight | Snider Hockey

The Philadelphia Outward Bound School is privileged to work with schools and organizations across the city – including with longtime partners at the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. Snider Hockey is a nationally acclaimed non-profit that uses the sport of hockey to educate and empower under-resourced youth of Philadelphia to prosper in the game of… READ MORE >

Meet Our Alumni | Imani D.

When Coach Rastrick first visited Imani’s classroom to talk about Outward Bound, Imani was thrilled. She remembered thinking, “They have that program here?!” Extracurriculars, like sports teams or clubs, weren’t offered at her previous school, and Outward Bound sounded pretty exciting – like the adventures of books and movies. Being a self-described “city girl,” Imani… READ MORE >

History of Outward Bound

Outward Bound has grown considerably since its inception when Kurt Hahn first developed a curriculum that placed equal emphasis on the development of character and the intellect in the classrooms of the Gordonstoun School in 1934 Scotland. Although today’s Outward Bound expeditions have adapted to the needs of our modern society, our programs remain true… READ MORE >

Reflecting on Outward Bound: Q&A with Emilia Rastrick

Since 2007, Emilia Rastrick has been the Health and Physical Education teacher at Lingelbach Elementary School. Emilia has chaperoned more than 14 Peer Leadership expeditions and participated in countless day programs with her students. When Emilia told us that this would be her last school year with the School District of Philadelphia, we were sad… READ MORE >

HAPPY EARTH DAY 2020!

Earth Day, the annual event that encourages people to care for the world around us, turns 50 this year! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s events and celebrations will be virtual. Here are a few resources to help you celebrate at home. Due to COVID-19, you might be feeling disconnected from nature. Some of… READ MORE >

How To Use Solo Time Productively

Solo time is a special part of an Outward Bound course. It allows students to spend time away from their crew and process their experience on a more personal level.  On expedition students are challenged with initiatives and wilderness skill development, then participate in discussions and debriefs to help extract lessons from the experience.  Solo,… READ MORE >

Year In Review: Top Ten Highlights of 2019

Since we measure success by the impact of our programs, our most exciting accomplishment in 2019 is the record-breaking number of students we served. This year 7,828 students participated in a POBS program – that’s a 53% increase over last year! We were excited to work with over 30 new partners – including some of our nearest… READ MORE >