At Chill, our mantra is “next time”; always looking forward, always progressing towards our organizational goals and mission fulfillment. This positive orientation has served Chill well in the past twelve months as we navigate an uncertain present and work towards a hopeful future.

In many ways the past year hasn’t been about Chill at all, it has been about the safety and health of our mentors, our agency partners, and our youth. Along the way we’ve learned a lot about the incredible team we have at Chill. We’ve also learned about the loyalty and passion provided by our donors and partners, how resilient our infrastructure and programs really are, and lastly about the important role Chill plays in the health and wellness of the youth and communities we serve.

We talk a lot about “challenge by choice” at Chill, the ability for our participants to determine how they choose to accept the challenges presented at program. We ask our youth to decide how far out of their comfort zone they are prepared to push. This year, we’ve all had “challenge by choice” taken away from us in various ways, as external factors determine our ability to live our lives in the ways in which we were previously accustomed. This lack of choice, and the associated lack of freedom, will have far-reaching effects on the youth Chill serves, and it will be our job to be there for our participants and play an integral role in their recovery and healing.

So we look forward. We work to ensure every facet of Chill is ready to yet again take our organization and programs to the next level. We prepare to be exactly what our youth need as hopefulness gives way to sustained improvement and freedom, and we promise we’ll be ready.