This was the most moving, most ground-breaking experience I have ever participated in. the people (especially Pam) were just so kind, so sweet, and absolutely wonderful. This brought me closer to my friends and peers in general. I think this should be shared with the rest of the world, including adults. It should be worldwide because an experience like this is extremely motivating, to know who is in the same position as you are, to know you aren't alone. I believe it is important to know how many people can help you, and its okay to be whoever you are. Thank you so much for being the change in the world, and I will make sure to spread the word of the amazing program.
Amazing organization! They help our student body with this event each year. We love the Challenge Day organization!
I first attended a Challenge Day program in 2010 and have been coordinating Challenge Day events at the high school where I teach ever since. No program is more transformative in seven hours time—Challenge builds a community from a room of near-strangers in beautiful fashion, giving voice to disconnected kids and helping see the tremendously large world that they belong in. The activities at Challenge Day range from energizing, goofy ice breakers to powerful sharing and listening exercises, with wonderful structured conversations, constantly changing group compositions, and an overall theme of celebration carrying a day filled with powerful reflection and emotion but that ends with kids calling it among their most memorable and fun experiences. Led by gifted, well-trained facilitators, Challenge Day is an interactive social-emotional learning workshop that somehow maintains the atmosphere of a party but mixes it with the emotion and intimacy of talking to a trusted friend and guides all participants toward noticing the issues around them, choosing to confront them, and then acting to execute that powerful change in their schools, lives, and communities. Our great campus has been made better in part by Challenge Day’s enduring presence, and the tools and opportunities Challenge Days have delivered helped our campus with healing after losing multiple students to suicide in a short timespan. I have grown as a person through attending and working with Challenge Day, my students have grown from attending or leading at Challenge Days, and the program has literally saved lives on our campus by starting difficult conversations and helping struggling students seek and find support. Challenge Day is transformative and it resonates through our campus of nearly 3000 students. I wish that ever campus could and every student could experience Challenge Day.
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Challenge Day is unrivaled in its power and ability to transform lives. Challenge Day runs programs for students that help them open up, connecting young people with their community and inspiring them to notice issues, choose to confront them, and act in pursuit of change for the better. The program is professional and polished, and the fantastic leaders who facilitate command the crowd, producing everything from spontaneous dancing to somber reflective sharing. I have been attending and coordinating Challenge Day events at my high school for seven years and those events each year resonatethroughout the rest. I sincerely believe there is no program better for helping students confront the perils of bullying, mental health crises, and the emotional turbulence that they are always living in. Challenge Day’s work is invaluable to the schools and communities it serves, and I know that my involvement with the program has helped me grow and become a better teacher, advocate, and man.
Challenge Day was one of the few programs that we tried at my school that made a real difference. After one year, we saw shift, after 5 years, we hit the tipping point and our school culture had done a 180 from being a school kids were trying to get our of, to having a waitlist to get in. Suspensions went down, attendance went up, and of course, so did results. All this because we used Challenge Day as our springboard for Social , Emotional Learning for the year. This organisation touches the lives of so many youth, allowing them to look inside and see if they are part of the problem, or part of the solution. This is how we change the world.
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This was a excellent experience for our school each time we did it. The effects it had on our students and community were lasting.
I have been involved with this program for over eight years. Each year, I coordinate Challenge Day at the school I work at. I can say with confidence that for as long as I can, I will continue to fight to bring this program to schools. People often look at the cost and say, “But it is so much.” Try it once, and you will never have that thought again. There is no one who can change lives quite like they can. Every year I am amazed by the impact, and I know what to expect every year! This group is incredible.
The 2018-2019 school year will bring Challenge day to our school for the 6th consecutive year. We are a committed, dedicated Challenge Day school. Challenge Day has become an important part of our 9th grade program. I highly recommend Challenge Day to any school looking to enhance their social-emotional program and a way to help "bring together" a grade. Each year the program has helped our Freshman class to be more cohesive and supportive of one another. It has also made a huge positive impact on our staff.