Shared Adventures

Shared Adventures is a remarkable program that provides joy, connection and celebration for individuals who might never have a chance otherwise to experience certain special joys of life. Developed by Foster Anderson, one of my heroes, for both children and adults with physical or mental challenges, Foster Anderson and his crew deliver, big time.
«Day on the Beach,» one of the highlights of each year, is where people with special needs and volunteers team up to share a full day of kayaking, outrigger canoeing, SCUBA diving, beach wheelchair rides, and life-​changing memories. Generous volunteers lay down over 200 pieces of plywood on frames, creating a unique 5,700 square foot platform on the beach that enables those with mobility issues to travel over the sand with ease to all the activities.
Day on the Beach gives participants and volunteers an unforgettable experience of breaking through barriers and seeing dreams become reality. This allows people in wheelchairs and with other mobility challenges, to enjoy themselves at the beach, access that we might otherwise take for granted.
It’s such a feel good event for all involved! There are volunteers that help each participant get into wetsuits and out into the water, on surfboards, and in kayaks. There are special «dune buggy» wheelchairs with big donut wheels. There is live music with great bands, free food and the wonderful feeling of everybody being included, respected and honored. And «Day on the Beach» is just one of the many activities «Shared Adventures» offers during the year.
There are weekly art classes, archery classes, elephant seal walks, gardening, and even a special summer camp for several days each summer. See their Website for more info. (
)
I love to volunteer at Day at the Beach and the other events during the year. In a sense, Shared Adventures creates a space where we are all volunteers and we are all participants, celebrating Life together. It’s a miracle of positivity, celebration, adventure, and kindness. Saturday July 16^th is the day of the event in 2016, Be sure to sign up early, to either be a participant or a volunteer. (Registration opens June 16^th for the year 2016.
Even if you aren’t able to register early, there’s still lots to do. Great activities, music, food & fun, available the day of the event.
Everybody who is anybody knows this is the happening place to be!
Here’s the Website for more information & pre-​registration:
~Dr. Suzanne Lerner

Now I’m going to start this off with a moment of obvious… when reviewing organizations, how you are involved is the corner stone of your opinion. Let’s keep that in mind, shall we?
From a participants perspective, Shared Adventures is pretty spectacular (see Lauren B’s fabulous review above). This is one of the few organizations in the area whose primary mandate is to provide «adventure» activities for adults with disabilities.
The reality is that while there are probably not enough, there are infinitely more charitable organizations out there who provide services for children with disabilities rather than adults. Let’s face it, kids are like human puppies, and who doesn’t want to shower a puppy with tons of cool stuff? Shared Adventures is unique in that it fills a huge void for those «kids» when they mature into slightly less cute but still adorable adults. This is not to say that children are not welcome at Shared Adventure events… simply that you will find many adults mixed into the crowd as well.
Shared Adventures puts on an assortment of events including kayaking, sail boating, horseback riding, rock climbing, gardening, art classes and frequent «dance parties» for folks to come out and socialize. This is especially important for adults who otherwise might be limited in the scope and scale of personable interaction.
From a volunteer perspective, Shared Adventures lacks some of the refinement and organizational management of the other organizations I volunteer with here in Santa Cruz. Patience is pretty much key to success as a volunteer. The level of volunteer expertise is often not the highest, but all the volunteers I’ve ever worked with have huge hearts of gold and will work their tails off to reach the goal. My last criticism stems from what is often lacking in volunteer appreciation. Shared Adventure has a pretty high turn around when it comes to volunteers, and I suspect a lot of this has to do with the lack of support and appreciation shown to the incredible group of people who volunteer their time to make these events possible.
With 5 stars for the participants experience, and 3 stars from the volunteer experience, Shared Adventures cranks out a solid 4 stars.

This is an AMAZING organization… Thank you Foster for creating something so incredible for those with different abilities/​disabilities.
I went on my first «adventure» today and it was nothing less than incredible. Well organized, super cool people, volunteers to help out and awesome events that aren’t lame… we went KAYAKING!
I roll around life in a wheelchair, never woulda thought I could kayak (but then why not!!!), but Shared Adventures has no limit if you don’t limit yourself… they host a variety of events, some free ones, all reasonably priced, they do fill up fast but don’t complain as it fills based on volunteers they NEED to support the events (come help volunteer, and you can join the fun!)
I’m going indoor rock climbing with them soon, they have had sailing, beach days… year-​round sports and gatherings
My first event, totally coming back for more!
Kayaking is also my new fav love :)