Our mission to inspire Ouray County's youth to achieve healthy lives would not be possible without the generous support of our donors. With your support, we can help foster resilient youth who transition successfully into adulthood.
"Voyager is fantastic! The staff and programming are top notch and my kids come home tired and happy. The transportation to/from Ouray makes a huge difference for working parents here. Everything about the program is great with the exception of registration, which is cumbersome especially if you have multiple children."
"The program is amazing! Thank you for all the time and effort made for the curriculum."
"The children all seemed very happy. We were so grateful to have childcare for the younger age group this year"
"Voyager is the best thing to happen to Ouray County parents"
"My child had a wonderful summer. Truly. She would squeal with joy on “voyager days”. Voyager is a gem for our small community. The impact of allowing childcare in the summers likely has a robust impact on the local economy in allowing parents back to work. "
"I appreciate the inclusive environment and Voyager welcoming diverse gender expression."
Voyager Youth Program inspires youth to lead healthy lives.
Voyager was founded in 1997 to fill a need for childcare when school was not in session. A group of local parents collaborated to organize a small summer day camp. The community response was strong, and parents quickly learned that enrichment programs like their camp do much more than keep kids busy: they are a critical factor in preventing a wide range of behaviors that keep kids from fulfilling their healthiest and best potentials.
In 1999, Voyager incorporated as a nonprofit organization and since then has had several key achievements. It expanded beyond summer enrichment to after school care, began evidence based suicide and substance use prevention programs and alternative activities for teens in 2003, started working at the community level in 2016 to develop local youth support systems, purchased its main facility in 2018, started a program to support LGBTQ+ youth in 2020 and in January 2023 expanded programming to early childhood.
Voyager’s mission has advanced to strength-based, upstream prevention for local youth. We start working with youth in early childhood in order to build positive skills that inspire children, adolescents, and teens to make healthy choices on their journey from childhood to adulthood. We primarily serve Ouray County youth age 3-18 (population ~5,0000). We engage them at a personal, peer and community level and use a Positive Youth Development framework to instill values of growth, connection, compassion, integrity, resiliency and fun in children. Programs and initiatives are informed by Ouray County Schools Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) data, youth leaders, workgroup discussions, parent surveys, school administrators and counselors as well as proven, evidence based models for social emotional development, peer mentoring, substance use prevention and community supports. Through a combination of grants and private donations, we keep registration fees minimal, offer financial assistance to families, and provide free teen programming. Over the last 24 years, Voyager has become a reliable, pertinent, and accessible resource that is highly valued in the community.
Organization name
Voyager Youth Program
other names
Voyager Youth Program
1997
Tax id (EIN)
84-1453650
Category
Youth Development
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
280 North CoraMailing
PO Box 709 RidgwayHeadquarters
280 North CoraOuray County, CO, US