A Bold Hour photo essay by Rosa Alemán spotlighting an on-going creative summer collaboration between Elevate Youth & Bridgebold
Mid-August in Massachusetts, and the air pressed heavy on my shoulders, thick with summer heat. I arrived at a shaded trailhead near Chestnut Hill to meet up with Elevate Youth on one of their end-of-summer excursions. The day’s challenge: rock climbing. By the time I caught up with the group of middle schoolers from Dorchester, they were already halfway up the cliffs—scaling tall, jagged rocks like pros.
Chaya Harris, Elevate Youth’s executive director, met me in the parking lot with her usual warmth and firm, steady energy. We walked beneath tall trees toward a towering rock wall where her team and climbing partners from the Greater Boston Climbing School had rigged up multiple climbing challenges. Some ropes were anchored to beginner paths meant to build comfort and rhythm, while others traced steeper, more complex climbs that demanded strategy, adaptability, and focus. Wherever you looked, there was a way to try something new.
When I arrived, the kids were on a lunch break—lounging on rocks and camping chairs, unwrapping sandwiches packed earlier that morning by Chaya and her team of staff and volunteers.
A few of the children had wandered up a nearby hill to sit shoulder to shoulder on a sun-warmed boulder, trading stories as they ate beneath the trees. The air hung heavy with ninety-degree heat, but their energy remained light, their laughter effortless.
You could feel the comfort between them—not built in a day, but shaped over a summer of shared experiences. For some, the bond went back even further. Fishing. Skiing. Camping. Each memory surfaced in conversation like a badge of honor. These weren’t simply outings; they were formative experiences that shaped confidence, character, and a wider sense of possibility.
On this particular trip, Elevate Youth partnered with Boston Centers for Youth and Families to bring a group of middle schoolers from Dorchester out for the day. Many of the kids were returning participants. As they stepped forward for on-camera interviews with me, they recalled previous adventures with Elevate Youth: skiing down snowy trails, casting fishing lines into quiet lakes, setting up tents under the stars or in the rain. Each memory was offered like a badge, like evidence of what they had seen, done, and learned through these experiences. Their voices lit up not just with excitement, but with ownership. They weren’t just joining in; they were building and becoming. They were growing their own story archives of accomplishments, one trip at a time.
As lunch wrapped up, the first climbers stepped forward. One girl, brimming with anticipation, jogged over to the harnesses and got clipped in. She moved with confidence—finding cracks in the rock, placing her feet with precision, pushing upward with practiced strength. In minutes, she reached the top. “You got this!” her friends had shouted as she climbed. And when she reached the top, they erupted with cheers. She descended gracefully, eyes already scanning the next climb.
That first ascent sparked something. A quiet ripple. More kids stood up, tightening helmets, exchanging glances, scanning the heights above them. One girl lingered at the base, studying the wall. Her expression was a question. She turned to her instructor.
“What if I fall?” she asked.
“I’ll catch you every time,” he said, tugging gently on the rope between them.
“Are you sure?”
“I promise.”
She nodded, took a breath, and stepped forward. Slowly, cautiously. Her hands searched for something solid to hold. Her footing slipped, but she steadied. About halfway up, she paused and called down, “Okay, I think I’m ready to come down now.”
Her instructor smiled. “You’re so close. Just a few more steps.”
From below, her peers called out: “You’re almost there!” “Keep going!”
She looked back up, gauged the final stretch. Then, with a slight shift of her weight, she reached for a hold just out of her comfort zone. A grin broke across her face as her hand landed, sure and steady. She climbed on. And then, she was there. At the top. “Yes!” Her voice rang out, echoing through the trees.
That moment of joy, disbelief, and pride lingered in the air long after she touched back down. One by one, the others followed. Each climber brought something unique: a spark of courage, a burst of laughter, or a steady focus. And when someone faltered, there was always a voice from below to remind them they weren’t alone. “It’s okay! Keep trying!”
Even the kids who chose not to climb found meaningful ways to join in. They filmed their friends on phones, tested their balance on a low-to-the-ground tightrope set up by Waddy Stryker, Elevate Youth’s longtime outdoor instructor, or held onto the shoulder of Kate Doan, a volunteer mentor, as they stepped onto the line for the first time. All around them, mentors climbed, spotted, coached, and encouraged—never pushing, always inviting, and having just as much fun as the kids themselves.
You could feel what this meant. It wasn’t just a break from routine or a chance to be outdoors. It was an opportunity to be seen, supported, and challenged in a setting that asked them to trust: their own strength, the people holding the rope, the possibility that they could do something they hadn’t yet tried.
This is the heartbeat of Elevate Youth’s mission: to provide transformational outdoor experiences for youth from Boston’s underserved neighborhoods, nurturing leadership, curiosity, and connection to the natural world. And this is where Bridgebold finds resonance—in documenting stories not as an observer from the outside, but as a partner in presence. As a listener. As a learner. My aim in this collaboration is not to amplify stories that already speak volumes, but to honor them, slow them down, and offer them back in their full complexity, beauty, and truth.
Small hands gripping rock. Nervous questions answered with presence and care. Cheers rising from the forest floor. These moments on the cliffside are powerful fragments of time—worth documenting, worth preserving. Not because they’re extraordinary, but because they remind us of what becomes possible when trust and courage meet. These kids rose, each in their own time, each in their own way, and it was a privilege to witness it.
What challenge have you faced that felt too big until someone said, “I’ve got you”?
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Want to follow this story as it unfolds?
We’ll be sharing more glimpses of this creative collaboration throughout the season via Bridgebold’s Substack newsletter at Boldhour.com. Join us for more outdoor adventures.
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