... And what a great year it's been! LEAD thanks the teens, families, volunteers, and staff who make LEAD what it is, as well as the the local businesses and donors that supported our programs with food, equipment, and financial contributions!

June 3 and 4 will be the last meetings of the LEADership Groups before we break for summer. LEADership Group members have the opportunity to wrap up the year with a 4-day overnight raft trip in the wilderness of the Deschutes River. A day on an overnight raft trip inclues everything from gearing up boats and cooking a backcountry dinner to running technical rapids and then connecting with other trip members amidst the stars and sagebrush. LEAD thanks the City of Eugene Outdoor Program for their help in making this trip a possibility!

Enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year is currently closed. Enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year will begin in the summer. Please download the enrollment forms below or contact us at (541) 342-8336 ext. 1003 for more info.

LEAD—Leadership Education Adventure Direction—was established in 1998 as a component of the City of Eugene Outdoor Program. In July 2001, LEAD became an independent non-profit agency offering a comprehensive leadership development program serving low-income teens ages 12 – 17 in Lane County, Oregon.

LEAD’s mission is to develop the leadership skills of low-income teens, empowering them to address community problems and change the world.

By participating in LEAD teens agree to be active and conscious members of their community. The core of our program is the ‘three commitment’ model that LEAD participants agree to follow:

1. To remain enrolled in school and work toward graduation
2. To obey the law - with the following exceptions:
   • homelessness or trespassing related to homelessness,
   • non-violent civil disobedience,
   • and undocumented immigrant status
3. To follow their ‘life assignment’ 

In sustaining these commitments, we offer a program of services that is broad, ongoing and intensive, supporting teens in many aspects of their lives and in following their life assignments. All LEAD teens have access to our regularly scheduled academic tutoring to receive assistance to succeed in school. Our mentors (staff and volunteers) help teens refuse destructive choices, and determine healthy directions for their lives. 

Teens enrolled in our LEADership Groups program also participate in our flagship outdoor adventure program which utilizes the concepts of positive rites of passage, positive challenges and adrenaline control to give teens the sense of empowerment and confidence they crave.

Most importantly, LEAD utilizes the approach that has brought us to the forefront of youth services since its inception: seriously including young people as the key architects in the development and implementation of our programs. Teens are a part of everything from hiring to planning the LEADership Group curriculum. Teens and their families report that the support they receive from LEAD is unlike anything that they have received from other programs. 

LEAD's approach is informed by our commitment to social justice. We believe that working against all forms of oppression, from sexism and racism to homophobia and classism, is a vital part of empowering people to "address community problems and change the world". We help educate the community about opression, especially ageism as it effects our teens. LEAD values the contributions made possible by cultures that accompany varying identities, and is always excited about learning how to be an outstanding multicultural organization.