Facilities
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Descriptions of Summer Program Areas:
Balsam Base, Balsam, NC –
Our Balsam Base is located in Balsam, NC, approximately 45 minutes west of Asheville. We are situated on ~10 acres of wooded, mountainous land that houses:
The Lodge – this is our primary administrative area of camp with business offices, gear/food rooms, a group meeting and recreation space, and a dining area.
The Bathhouse – this building is adjacent to the Lodge with private bath and shower facilities, a group meeting room, and a twenty-four foot climbing wall.
Cabins – throughout our campus are 10 rustic cabins (named for various explorers) that serve as staff and student housing while they are on base. The cabins contain wooded bunks and are electricity free!
ROPES Course – Balsam Base also offers both a low and high ropes course as well as an open field area for games, initiatives, archery, and hatchet throwing.
Eagle View Ranch, Dubois, WY –
Eagle View Ranch is located four miles west of Dubois WY, situated on ~22 acres of ranch and woodland. Its facilities include:
The Dining Pavilion – constructed of lodgepole pine, this area houses the kitchen, bath and shower facilities, and a covered dining area with fireplace.
The Riding Area – with horseback riding as the focus of Eagle View Ranch, this area provide students with a wonderful venue for honing their equestrian skills.
The Eagle View Lodge – this facility houses administrative offices and classrooms. A second kitchen complex is adjacent to the Lodge, as are the horse corrals and tack buildings.
Student & Staff housing – for their time on base, students and staff stay in outfitter-style shelters and tipis that are electricity free!
Florida Keys, FL –
Our Florida Standard and Florida SCUBA programs are facilitated in the Middle Keys. The campsite is located in the Spanish Harbor Channel on West Summerland Key and overlooks both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. All staff and students stay in tents throughout the summer, and will have access to bathroom facilities.
California-
Our California Standard program is based a McGrath State Park south of the Big Sur region of California. The students will travel to the Channel Islands NP, and stay at Montana de Oro SP. The California Expedition begins in Monterey Bay, and then travels to Yosemite NP and the Lake Tahoe region. All staff and students stay in tents throughout the summer, and will have access to bathroom facilities.
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Philosophy: SOAR believes all individuals identified with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD) possess inherent talents and gifts. These abilities can mean incredible success in adulthood once these students negotiate the challenging obstacles of childhood, adolescence, and a traditional education system, usually unable to respond to individual learning styles.
Therefore, the SOAR model is based on two fundamental principles. First, youth with LD and AD/HD flourish when they are encouraged to focus on their strengths in an experiential setting. The second principle acknowledges that success can be generalized by encouraging our students to develop and utilize strategies, enabling them to compensate for those challenging characteristics of LD and AD/HD. To this end, SOAR staff strive to ensure success for each student across a wide range of experiences. Such success, in turn, builds essential self-esteem and self-confidence.
Based on these two foundations, SOAR participants develop problem solving skills, effective communication strategies, increased self-awareness, and social skills. Program activities include a broad base of wilderness adventure experiences that empower students to make healthy choices, learn more about themselves, overcome challenges, and establish relevance from these experiences to other aspects of their life.
SOAR's Specialty Courses are open to SOAR alumni and students with the maturity and experience level to be successful on the course. Acceptance is conditional on the approval of the course director. Most specialty courses are led by one of SOAR's year-round staff including Jonathan Jones, John Willson and Logan Walters.
SOAR’s programs are designed to allow students the opportunity to increase their independence while away from home. Independence is gained through self-motivation and life skills instruction. With this in mind, we involve our students in many decision making processes, such as setting individual goals, developing group guidelines, as well as trip and meal planning. This also comes into consideration when developing SOAR’s communication policy, detailed in our Parent Handbook.
SOAR is dedicated to serving the needs of individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD) and is proud to be the finest: