First Descents

First Descents (FD) is a charitable non-profit organization, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. First Descents provides outdoor adventures for young adults impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions.[4] Brad Ludden, a professional kayaker, founded First Descents in 2001.[5]

First Descents
Founded2001
FounderBrad Ludden
TypePublic charity non-profit organization
FocusYoung adult cancer
Outdoor adventure sports[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]
Employees
11-50[1]
WebsiteFirstDescents.org
Brad Ludden on the 4,000 Islands section of the Mekong river in Laos

First Descents has served nearly 10,000 young adult survivors at over 1,000 programs nationwide.[6] It has established relationships with more than 450 medical centers nationwide to reach patients. Beginning in 2020, FD expanded programming to serve healthcare professionals on the frontlines of COVID-19.[7][8] First Descents has been recognized by CNN Heroes[9] and Outside magazine’s Best Places to Work.[10]

How it works

Fist Descents provides week-long and multi-day programs nationwide.[8] These are low cost, non-clinical programs.[7] Programs offer a variety of adventure sports including climbing, paddling, and surfing.[11]

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

Brad Ludden, Founder
Main article: Brad Ludden

First Descents founder and professional whitewater kayaker Brad Ludden saw how young adults lack support in the cancer world when he was 12 and his aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38. An accomplished kayaker, Ludden decided to volunteer at a local pediatric oncology program by teaching kayaking.[8] In 2001 he started First Descents.[13] In 2016 Ludden won a CNN hero award for his work with First Descents.[9][14]

Out Living It documentary

First Descents founder Brad Ludden approached filmmaker Michael Brown,[lower-alpha 1] a three-time Emmy award winner, who specialized in documenting outdoor expeditions. After hearing about Ludden's organization, Brown agreed to direct a documentary about Ludden's adventure experiences with cancer survivors.[16] First Descents launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the documentary, and by April 2012 raised $21,507 from 142 people.[17]

For one week, Ludden and 14 other young adult cancer survivors spend a week together in the outdoors going on physical adventures. Brown filmed the adventures and interviewed the participants.[18] The film was released on April 14, 2012.[15]

Notes
  1. Director Michael Brown has personally completed over 50 expeditions covering all seven continents, filming all of them. He is the founder of a filmmaking school called Outside Adventure Film School.[15]

References
  1. "First Descents - LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  2. "Programs - First Descents". First Descents. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  3. "2012 Year in Review" (PDF). First Descents. Denver, Colorado. 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  4. "Outdoor Adventure for Cancer Fighters - FIRST DESCENTS.ORG". First Descents. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  5. Badenhausen, Kurt (19 October 2011). "First Descents: Cancer Camp For Young Adults". Forbes. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  6. "First Descents Launches Adventures for Frontline Health Care Workers". 5280. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  7. "First Descents - Guidestar". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  8. "Running Rapids in the Fight Against Cancer". The New York Times. 19 August 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  9. Meghan Dunn (8 September 2016). "Outdoor adventure empowers young cancer patients". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  10. Bibber, Ryan Van (2020-11-03). "The 50 Best Places to Work in 2020". Outside Online. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  11. Flowers, Lisa A. (2018-03-08). "First Descents". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  12. "Key Numbers & Annual Reports - First Descents". First Descents. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  13. "Staff". First Descents. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  14. Lewis, Chelsey. "First Descents is like cancer camp for young adults, taking survivors on free climbing, kayaking and surfing trips". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  15. "Out Living It (2012) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  16. "Remarks by Michael Brown in Kickstarter introductory video". Kickstarter. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 19 August 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.
  17. McKee, Kim (20 April 2012). ""Out Living It" by Kim McKee". Kickstarter. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  18. "Out Living It Documentary - First Descents". First Descents. Retrieved 21 August 2014.

Articles

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