Youth Unplugged is a nonprofit organization started by Johnny and Leanna Tock that raises awareness about technology balance for children and their families. They help kids unplug from technology and connect to nature, community and themselves, through outdoor play. They offer retro sleepaway mini-camps, Youth Unplugged Academy (8 week sessions of outdoor play-classes), community outreach and more. Focusing on discovery, storytelling and connection, they help children create a healthy lifestyle that is holistic, balanced, eco-friendly, and encourages imagination and exploration. Fun and play is not only a great way to connect with others and build relationships, it’s also a very important part of our development. In todays world of technology and video games, kids are playing less and less outdoors and are relying on video games or technology to entertain them, engage them, and provide the fun that used to be provided through in-person, interactive games and community. Studies are showing us that Nature is tremendously beneficial for our health, yet we are at an all time low for time spent outdoors. In America, Indigenous Native Americans have lived with nature longer than anyone. We believe the thousands of years they spent listening to Americas great outdoors has resulted in them having something to teach us. A study was conducted to determine Indigenous values across North America and Canada and resulted in the following 10 common values amongst 45 tribes. Throughout our programming, we will embrace these themes through Group Chats and activities pertaining to these topics. Youth Unplugged Academy is an outdoor play-class that runs in 8 week sessions for 2 hours each class. Academy is run by 2 trained leaders and a rotating parent volunteer with a ratio of 3 adults: 16 kids. Children will: play active games to get them moving, make arts & crafts, and have group chats pertaining to that sessions’ theme. The sleepaway mini-camps are weekend-long camps. They include: swimming, ropes course, climbing wall, archery, horseback riding, tube slides, hiking, arts & crafts and field games and so much more. Also included: morning parent workshop (with refreshments) on pickup morning, Sunday, May 5th: 9:30am-11am Through mindfulness activities, daily yoga, and holistic eco-connection, children are able to reconnect with themselves and that around them, while developing easy practices they can continue as a lifestyle and/or as coping mechanisms in times of stress or anxiety. At Youth Unplugged, your child gets to be a kid, play games, and have campfires with s’mores and storytelling. They have the opportunity to play sports, do arts & crafts, talk about pressing issues for their emotional development. They will have “group chats” where they have more meaningful conversations about self-image, creating balance in technology use, respecting others, communication, the importance of community, self-care, and so much more. Technology has a way of removing some of the wonder and playfulness of our children today, and they are here to help restore that.
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