Chicago Adventure Therapy

Guiding Chicago Youth Through the Urban Wilderness

Our Mission

Using outdoor adventure sports like paddling, camping, cycling, hiking, and rock climbing, Chicago Adventure Therapy (CAT) works with Chicago children, youth, and young adults to have a lasting positive impact on their communities and become healthy adults by teaching effective social skills and strong leadership skills, increasing participants’ sense of possibility, and fostering a sense of empowerment and personal responsibility.

Programming Areas

Chicago Adventure Therapy currently offers programs for children, youth, young adults, and families. Often this happens through a partnership with other nonprofit agencies but individuals and families are also welcome.


Core Programming

We collaborate with youth-serving organizations to offer outdoor adventure experiences for their clients. Through our collaborative efforts, we empower participants to embrace the outdoors, build resilience, and cultivate valuable life skills.

Family Adventures

We offer unforgettable outdoor experiences for our young participants and their families at absolutely no cost. Families are invited to join us for a rewarding journey where they can bond, grow, and create lasting memories together.

Community Festivals

We bring the adventure to you. Our team sets up at parks, block parties, and other community events, providing gear for hands-on experiences and answering any question you may have.

Adventure Communities

 CAT Adventure Communities was created to ensure that youth participants, regardless of their involvement status with partner organizations, maintain access to outdoor adventure experiences. We bring together youth from various backgrounds across the city of Chicago to build community and hone their outdoor adventure skills.

After School Programming

We offer on-site sessions for outdoor education, nature reflections, and skill-building activities.

 

Diversity & Inclusion

Chicago Adventure Therapy values and promotes diversity and inclusion in our organization, our programming, and our partnerships. We are dedicated to providing quality, safe, effective programming to all people regardless of race, ethnicity, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification or expression, body type, ability, income, religion, philosophy, and/or all other identities represented in our diverse city.

“I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a sea kayak instructor and a wilderness guide. The juxtaposition of these experiences provided the idea and motivation for CAT. Leading affluent people on vacations in the wilderness, I sometimes watched it change their lives. Over the course of a week-end, a 6-year-old girl on one of the family trips I led went from being terrified to paddle a double kayak with her father to demanding a single of her own. She spent the last day of the trip paddling her boat, lounging on the top of it, posing as the bowsprit, and chasing turtles. At the end of the trip, her father was near tears as he tried to express the impact this two day trip had on his daughter. At the time, I was working at a Community Mental Health Center. One of my adolescent clients couldn’t stop opening and closing desk drawers, turning the lamp on and off, spinning the chair around and around. He was frequently loud and inappropriate. If I went for a walk with him, he immediately stopped being disruptive and was remarkably vulnerable about his hopes and his fears. I founded Chicago Adventure Therapy in order to be able to work with clients like this young man, providing experiences like the weekend camping trip provided for the 6 year old girl.”

 

Andrea Knepper,
Founder & Executive Director