End of Year Letter to Friends and Supporters

Fall, 2011

Dear Friend of Wilderness Wind,

Every organization has moments in its history that are critical. In this year as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary, Wilderness Wind stands at one of those moments.

Wilderness experiences are profoundly cross-cultural, deeply powerful and needed by the human spirit to remember our true place and responsibilities within God’s beautiful universe and this small planet we call home. This is profoundly important work.

Our programs are deeply needed. The frenetic pace of our lives leaves little room for the still, small voice of God. Our children are growing up in a culture where technological distraction and disconnect from the “real world” is now the norm. The disconnect between our lives and the life sustaining systems of God’s good earth is growing.

This is why there is growing excitement over our partnership with Big City Mountaineers. Big City Mountaineers mentors under-resourced urban teens through transformative canoeing experiences facilitated by us, building character and instilling critical life skills. Over the past three years nearly 200 Chicago teens have participated in this program. During the next four years that number will to grow to 500. Lives are being changed.

We embraced this partnership because it fits well with our core values. We have long known the power of the wilderness in the experiences of our own trips, how they provide space and silence for encounters with God hard to find anywhere else. Those experiences have been transformative for countless people in our programs over the past 25 years. We are not surprised that at-risk urban teens find their lives deeply touched by the same.

Alongside the growth in our partnership with Big City Mountaineers, our core program of guided canoe trips continues as well, and we also seek to grow and strengthen it in the coming years. All of this growth is exciting and energizing, but also presents significant challenges in enhancing facilities at base camp to accommodate the growing numbers.

We are up to the challenge, but we rely very much on people like you, who believe in what we are doing and provide us with financial and other resources required to do our good work. You are also our partner, and we must grow our partnership with you as well.

We are at a critical moment, an exciting time for Wilderness Wind. We have the opportunity to grow and to touch significantly more lives in the coming years. To do that, we truly need your help. Your prayers and donations are deeply appreciated.

With sincere thanks,



Steven L. Mullet, Board President