Building Community & Making Memories with BRAVO (Blue Ridge Adventures Vision Optional)

In this episode I sit down with very special guests Layla & Stacey Hildenbran, and Jay Hardwig from BRAVO which is Blue Ridge Adventures – Vision Optional, whose mission is To provide outdoor enrichment programsto youth with blindness and low vision. 

This is an especially fun episode for me because I have been hearing about Layla’s story since my wife taught her in first grade six years ago. She is a super special girl who is completely blind…and pursues life full on. And it’s not by accident. Her parents, Stacey and Jason have always taken the approach that they didn’t want to limit Layla, but instead wanted her to thrive and experience as much as she possibly could in her life. The outdoors has always been a draw for their family, and they’ve made adventure a priority in their lives.

Sadly, there is a shortage of quality programs for students with visual impairments, particularly in the area of outdoor experiential education.  Multiple studies have confirmed that students with visual impairments are more likely to be less active, less healthy, and less socially engaged than their sighted peers. These discrepancies have become more pronounced following the Covid pandemic.

So, when the camp program that Layla had been participating changed their focus and direction in the fall of 2022, Jay, Stacey and others knew what they had to do. They started the non-profit BRAVO program to continue bringing blind and visually impaired students into the outdoors so they too can experience the positive impact on their mental and physical wellbeing, and improve symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

https://www.blueridgebravo.org/

https://wildwaterrafting.com/

https://noc.com/

Mike Andress
Host, Exploration Local
828-551-9065
mike@explorationlocal.com

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