Home is about family and families are about traditions

 Here are a few of our favorites...

THE HOLIDAYS

At Waking the Village, we believe that all families should have the opportunity to build and foster their own holiday traditions. We are a non-religiously affiliated agency, but we make room for our young parents to try out new holiday traditions and decide what sticks. Waking the Village gives careful attention to ensuring that every child gets to hunt for an easter egg, trim a Christmas tree and hang up holiday lights, cut out a homemade valentine, carve a pumpkin and go Trick-Or-Treating, or just about any other holiday tradition that every child should get the opportunity to experience.

International travel

Visiting another country should not be an experience reserved for the privileged. That is why every summer Waking the Village partners with Student Reach, a local agency dedicated to providing opportunities to marginalized students, to take a week-long trip to Baja Mexico. The Waking the Village residents attending this trip spend months preparing by applying for a passport, raising funds, and participating in a week-long seminar about the culture offered by the Creation District. During this week, youth get the opportunity to hike volcanoes, climb to the top of vista points, swim in the ocean, and work alongside a homeless family to build a house from the ground up. 

TRIPS TO THE OCEAN AND THE SNOW

Every child should get to experience the wonder of feeling small next to the ocean and catching a snowflake on her tongue for the first time. Every winter we load up the vans and drive into the Tahoe mountains to go sledding. Each summer we pack up our boogie boards and catch a beach sunset on the coast. 

The Tubman games

Each spring, our Tubman residents spend an afternoon engaged in competitive play and laughter. Think an adult field day with way more messiness and the opportunity to compete for the coveted "Tubman Trophy".

CAMPING

Summers are about making smore's, climbing trees, and catching fireflies in mason jars. At Waking the Village we make sure our youth and their children get to experience all the wonder of a first camping trip. Each summer we take all of our Waking the Village residents into the woods to spend a few days gathered around the campfire and sleeping under the stars.