First Descents

Last updated
First Descents
Founded2001
Founder Brad Ludden
Type Nonprofit
FocusHumanitarian [1]
Location
Area served
United States, Costa Rica, Peru, Vietnam, Patagonia, and Bali [2]
ProductOutdoor adventures for cancer fighters
Key people
Ryan O'Donoghue (Executive Director)
Revenue$1,906,780 (2012) [3]
Employees11–50 [1]
Website FirstDescents.org
Brad Ludden on the '4,000 islands' section of the Mekong river in Laos Brad Ludden.jpg
Brad Ludden on the '4,000 islands' section of the Mekong river in Laos

First Descents (FD) is a charitable non-profit organization headquartered in Denver, Colorado. [4] Brad Ludden, a professional kayaker, founded First Descents in 2001. [5]

Contents

First Descents has served around 10,000 young adult survivors at over 1,000 programs nationwide. [6] First Descents has been recognized by CNN Heroes [7] and Outside magazine's Best Places to Work. [8]

History

When Brad Ludden was 12, and his 38-year-old aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer, he decided to volunteer at a local pediatric oncology program and teach kayaking. [9] In 2001, he started First Descents. [10]

In 2016, Ludden won the CNN Hero Award for his work with First Descents. [7] [11]

In 2020, First Descents expanded programming to serve healthcare professionals on the frontlines of COVID-19. [12] [9]

Programs

First Descents provides week-long and multi-day programs nationwide. [9] The programs offer climbing, paddling, and surfing. [13]

In 2011, First Descents offered 27 outdoor programs, and 283 people participated. In 2012, the number of outdoor programs grew to 45, and the number of participants was 515. [3] In 2013, First Descents ran programs in 12 states and three countries. [14]

Out Living It documentary

First Descents founder Brad Ludden approached filmmaker Michael Brown, a three-time Emmy Award winner, about directing a documentary about Ludden's adventures with cancer survivors. [15] First Descents launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the documentary and raised $21,507. [16]

Ludden and 14 other young adult cancer survivors spent a week together in the outdoors. Brown filmed the adventures and interviewed the participants. [17] The film was released on April 14, 2012. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 "First Descents - LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Programs - First Descents". First Descents. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "2012 Year in Review" (PDF). First Descents. Denver, Colorado. 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Outdoor Adventure for Cancer Fighters - FIRST DESCENTS.ORG". First Descents. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ Badenhausen, Kurt (October 19, 2011). "First Descents: Cancer Camp For Young Adults". Forbes. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ "First Descents Launches Adventures for Frontline Health Care Workers". 5280. May 19, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Meghan Dunn (September 8, 2016). "Outdoor adventure empowers young cancer patients". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ Bibber, Ryan Van (November 3, 2020). "The 50 Best Places to Work in 2020". Outside Online. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 "Running Rapids in the Fight Against Cancer". The New York Times. August 19, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Staff". First Descents. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ Lewis, Chelsey. "First Descents is like cancer camp for young adults, taking survivors on free climbing, kayaking and surfing trips". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ "First Descents - Guidestar". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ Flowers, Lisa A. (March 8, 2018). "First Descents". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Key Numbers & Annual Reports - First Descents". First Descents. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Remarks by Michael Brown in Kickstarter introductory video". Kickstarter. April 20, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2014. When I found out about my friend Brad Ludden's organization, and that he was bringing cancer survivors into the wilderness for wilderness therapy in a setting where diagnosis didn't matter--chemotherapy wasn't the main topic of conversation--and since that time, we've been working on this film. So much has gone so well.
  16. ↑ McKee, Kim (April 20, 2012). ""Out Living It" by Kim McKee". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Out Living It Documentary - First Descents". First Descents. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Out Living It (2012) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
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