At the start of May, SOS Outreach celebrated its regional graduation for 182 Summit County youths who completed the nonprofit’s Mentor Program.

Development and Marketing Manager Kristina Chesney said those in the program participate in outdoor activities with a focus on positive peer bonding, leadership and life skills development over four years. She said SOS Outreach’s curriculum intends to help kids develop and apply eight life skills: communication, responsibility, cooperation, coping with adversity, engagement, empathy, assertion and self-control.

Chesney said the nonprofit was able to celebrate the program participants’ accomplishments at a physically distanced graduation ceremony with friends, family and mentors. She said all participants received a certificate and a graduation gift.

“These youth have dedicated four years to on-mountain skill building and in-community leadership development — progressing from bunny hills to black diamonds and from ’just a participant’ to natural leaders,” Chesney wrote in an email. “They take risks. They take ownership of their actions. And their newfound self-esteem permeates all aspects of life.”