Summer Experience Partners

Partners In Transformative Summers

The Summer Search journey begins with recruiting high school sophomores who take part in 1:1 and group mentoring to prepare them to participate in two transformative summer experiences in their sophomore and junior years.

Thanks to our incredible community of summer program partners, thousands of Summer Searchers have had life-changing experiences.

In 2024 we worked with 80+ program partners across our five communities (Bay Area, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Seattle) to send nearly 700 participants on domestic and international experiences, ranging from outdoors, academic, art and creative based, community service, and social justice programs.

Going forward, we are expanding our partnerships, especially with programs that are owned/led by Women and/or BIPOC individuals.

Refer a New Summer Partner!

Fill Out Our Interest Form

Know any amazing programs, orgs, or people we should partner with? Refer them here!

Meet Our 2025 Partners

Click to View our Summer Experience Partners

Thanks to the support of so many who have devoted their lives to the development of young people, thousands of Summer Searchers have had life-changing experiences. We pay tribute to the organizations whose scholarships and equipment donations make this possible.

Adventure Risk Challenge
Appalachian Expeditions
Appel Farm
Big City Mountaineers
BU Be Human
Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound School
Chewonki
College Now John Jay
College Now Lehman College
Deer Hill Expeditions
Drexel?s Public Health Leadership Institute
Environmental Traveling Companions
Futures and Options
GirlVentures
Global Glimpse
Global Routes/ Carpe Diem Education
Global Works
Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS)
iD Tech
Kroka
Maine Teen Camp
MASSART Massachusetts College of Art and Design
National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
NS2
Overland Summers
Philadelphia Outward Bound School (POBS)
Pocono Environmental Education Center
Putney School Summer Programs
Shoulder to Shoulder
Sierra Nevada Journeys
Soul Trak
Summer@Brown
Summer Springboard
Syracuse University Summer College
Team Wilderness
Teens in Public Service (TIPS)
Temple University Pre-College Programs
Teton Science Schools
The Service Board
University of the Pacific Summer High School Institute
Washington Business Week
YMCA Frost Valley

Our Approach & Participants

Learn About Summer Search and Who We Serve

Summer Search students — the majority being People of Color and first-generation individuals from low-income communities — face systemic barriers that block access to high quality education, mentoring, opportunities for growth, and professional networks.

We partner with our young people in navigating these systemic barriers so they can achieve economic equity and a life of purpose.

We consider a ‘transformative experience’ to be a summer experience that aligns with our four Depth Mentoring frameworks: Trauma Sensitivity, Social Emotional Learning, Critical Consciousness, and Adolescent Development.

We believe that when summer experiences align with these research-backed frameworks, they allow our participants to do the following:

  • Safely challenge and develop their identity.
  • Learn how to build relationships.
  • Explore their potential for post-secondary success.
  • Learn healthy methods for processing emotions and feelings.
  • Challenge oppressive systems and narratives.

At Summer Search We Serve

Students of Color

  • 20% are Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Students.
  • 30% are Black, African American, across the African Diaspora.
  • 50% are LatinX American, across the Latin Diaspora.

They are:

  • Gender self-identifying as 38% Male and 60% Female.
  • First-time travelers and new to outdoor experiences.
  • From city environments and diverse schooling experiences.

Summer Searchers are independent, resilient, and community-centered leaders!

How To Partner With Us

What Do We Look For In A Summer Program Partner?

Summer Search aims to partner with organizations that can provide experiential learning opportunities to our participants.

Transformative experiences serve as a core element to our program model which, combined with long-term mentoring, creates an action-and-reflection sequence that can contribute to key adolescent development milestones related to ‘thriving’ such as identity formation, educational achievement, and a sense of purpose.

When exploring partnership, we look for partners that can do the following:

  • Group-based experiences that places a Summer Searcher with other young people.
  • Experiences that happen in the summer months (June-August) and last between one (1) week and two (2) months.
  • Partners that can provide scholarships to reduce tuition costs. This allows us to sponsor 750+ young people with tuition.
  • All-inclusive tuition that costs within the range of $500-$3,000.
  • Programs that are willing to develop and implement new programs according to Summer Search’s needs.
  • Honest and transparent partners that are willing to receive and give feedback for continuous improvement.

To honor our participants’ demographics and their experience, we are currently looking to partner with BIPOC or Women Owned and/or Led programs that are community-centered and provide opportunities for social justice learning, outdoor education, and/or paid internship experiences.

Why Partner With Summer Search?

We honor our program partners and support their growth as part of the Summer Search community. We invite all partners to commit to upholding our community agreements within the collaborative work of youth development programming. When partnering with Summer Search you also receive:

Direct funding and access to a philanthropic network.

Program assessment and evaluation support.

Access to a learning network with 60+ youth development programs across the country.

Refer a New Partner!

*If you think your program is a good fit for our participants, please fill out our interest form and someone from our team will reach out within three (3) weeks.

*If you are a participant, parent, or community member and want to recommend a program, please also complete the interest form. We can can’t wait to hear from you!

Fill Out Our Interest Form

Why Summer Experiences?

Jamal_NYC_THATSWHY

"To this day, I wear a bracelet on my wrist which I earned from my trip. It’s a reminder that leadership is about service—a lesson I learned through my Summer Search journey."

— Jamal, NYC Alum

Jana_NYC_SummerSearcher_ThatsWhy_VRT

"Summer Search has given me the courage to do anything that I put my mind up to it"

— Jana, NYC Summer Searcher

David-Seattle-Grad-2015-sq

"Because [Summer Search] provided me with opportunities I wouldn't have known about otherwise."

— David, Seattle Alum & Staff

Kalkidan_Seattle_Student_ThatsWhy

"I chose Summer Search 'cause of the many opportunities and adventures I was able to go on."

— Kalkidan, Seattle Student

Dariela_NYC_Marathon

"There's something so wonderful about the Summer Search community where, aside from challenging you to grow, you are just always welcomed with open arms, and feel right at home."

— Dariela, NYC Alumna & Staff Alumna

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