Give the Gift of Adventure!

This holiday season, our goal is to raise $125,000 to help fund transformative adventures for more than 2,000 young adults impacted by cancer and MS through core programs and community adventures in the year ahead.

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JOIN US FOR A 2025 HEALING ADVENTURE!

Our Values

Home Core Values & Code of Conduct

Our Core Values

	Who You Are	How We Operate
Adventure	You take on personal and professional challenges and embrace vulnerability. You’re willing to try something new and commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart and the desire to learn and engage.	We have the courage to put ourselves out there. We take calculated risks. We persevere through the journey and embrace the challenges along the way.
Community	You want to be part of something bigger than yourself and welcome others to join you. You show up for members of your team and your community.	We build a community culture where all involved feel included, empowered, and worthy. We listen with an open mind and have appreciation for different perspectives. We build genuine connections and have fun along the way.
Excellence	You take pride in your work. When you do something, you strive to do it well. You choose to make the right choices over and over again, especially when nobody is looking. You believe excellence is a habit and demand more of yourself than others expect.	We continuously work to find better ways to create impact. We build on our accomplishments, set new standards, and strive to exceed expectations in all aspects of our work. With safety as our #1 priority, we adhere to best practices and embrace opportunities to demonstrate leadership.
Trust	You are your authentic self and make a genuine effort to remove barriers that hold you back. You are accepting of yourself and others, and believe everyone is deserving of respect. You practice concern for the well-being of yourself and others.	We start by assuming positive intent. We believe in the strength of our team and their ability to guide the organization forward. We foster trust amongst our program participants and the broader FD community.

Our Code of Conduct

AT FIRST DESCENTS

We strive to create an emotionally, physically, and spiritually safe space for everyone.

We stay together – participants, staff, volunteers, and outfitters – to create a collective, inclusive space.

We respect individuality and treat everyone equally.

We take the rare opportunity to disconnect from everyday life in order to cultivate deep connection and personal introspection.

We do not dilute the experience by using alcohol or unprescribed drugs.

We practice sound judgment and manage risk as best as we can.

We have empathy and compassion for those around us.

We find our voice and allow others to express theirs.

We tread lightly and serve as stewards of the environment.

We up our game and challenge one another to expand and grow.

We are here for adventure, we are here for healing, we are here for our own individual reasons, but most importantly, we are here together. So please respect one another, and most importantly – don’t be a jerk!