10/19/2019
Congratulations to Jovan McNeil. Random Act of BBQ Nominee winner!
Jovan is one of the most selfless people you will meet. The following text youโll read on his give back to the community (unpaid) outside of his paid job. So when he told me three years ago he was creating a charity and asked for my input on how to pitch it to local businesses to garnish funds to make it happen, I knew I wanted to help in whatever way I could. Cloud 9 outdoors was created with the goal in mind of helping inner city youth & single parents experience outdoor adventures and create stronger family bonds. Bringing at risk youth on trips outdoors like fishing, archery, camping and hunting, that they would not get to experience else wise. Fishing, hunting and all things outdoors tests ones patience, teaches bits of survival skills, requires you to work with others to complete tasks โ team work, reinforces that all good things worth catching take effort, a plan and time, and that there are positive activities right here in our local area. Jovan works tirelessly to create impactful experiences for these youth by creating partnerships with local businesses to donate gear, equipment, time, and money, like Hubbardโs Marina. His relentless commitment to positively impacting these members of our youth community, doesnโt stop at just coordinating and executing adventurous trips โ Jovan holds the students accountable to their academics through helping monitoring their grades โ if their grades arenโt doing well, they donโt get to go on the trips. He takes it even a step further by not just telling the student they donโt get to attend due to grades, he takes on the task of visiting them bi-weekly and physically sits with them in their classroom mentoring them, helping them, and cheering them on, until their grades improve.
The result and impact of Cloud 9 Outdoors:
- Better communication between single parents and children
- Appreciation of the outdoors and nature
- Higher Self-esteem through skill development โ leadership, team work, survival
- Elevated levels of discipline and focus โ through outdoor training and mentorship
In 2018 Cloud 9 Outdoors:
- 30 Trips completed
- 200+ at risk youth mentored
- Provided 2 scholarships awarded to attend trade schools