FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Challenge Day is a 501 c(3)non-profit organization that helps people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect.

Using highly interactive and energetic activities, Challenge Day Leaders guide participants through a carefully designed exploration of the ways people separate from each other, and model tools for creating connection and building community.

Challenge Day programs increase self-esteem, help shift dangerous peer pressure to positive peer support, and reduce the acceptability of teasing, oppression, and all forms of violence. Our programs inspire youth and communities to Be the Change they wish to see in the world, and challenge others to do the same.

The Challenge Day program is approximately 6 ½ hours long and takes place during a school day. Challenge Day is most effective when it is implemented on the school campus, on a school day, during normal school hours.

Challenge Day Leaders work to create trust and connection in the morning by helping participants step out of their comfort zones through music and games. Participants begin to recognize stereotypes and labels that exist among them, and are then willing to be vulnerable enough with one another to connect as human beings. Leaders also discuss the healthy expression of emotions, and the negative effects of keeping feelings inside. During the afternoon, participants dive into the issue of social oppression and examine the impact oppression has on their lives and the lives of people around them. By the end of the afternoon, participants have an opportunity to take a stand against oppression, make amends for hurts they have caused each other, and state their commitment to creating change on their campus and in their community. The day is both inspiring and awakening for students and adults.

Day after day, young people in our schools face negative judgments, teasing, violence, loneliness and separation. Challenge Day is designed to wake people up to their power to change this and many students and adults will have feelings come up for them. These issues are often difficult to face, but once people face them, they wake up and see they can change people's experiences at their schools or in their communities. Our program incorporates the Challenge Day Formula for Change:

Notice: Wake up to how people are treating one another

Choose: Choose the school and life of your dreams

Act: Take action to make your dreams a reality

Newly-awakened students leave the room inspired to seek ways to contribute to the creation of a positive school environment. School officials choosing to host a Challenge Day should have a plan for sustaining and supporting these motivated youth in achieving their goals.

In addition to feeling inspired, some students who are dealing with hurts may need additional support. In most cases, we have found school officials are grateful to finally identify and have the opportunity to provide these students with the help they need. To be as effective as possible in supporting these youth, we require that your school team have a counselor who is excited to participate in the entire Challenge Day program and is able to provide any necessary follow-up support.

One Challenge Day program can serve a maximum of 100 7-12th grade teens and up to 50 adults.

A minimum of one committed school counselor must participate in each Challenge Day, in order to provide logistical support and to be available for follow-up with students who may need additional support.

Our program also requires a minimum of 1 adult for every 4 teen participants. We strongly recommend including adults who have a role in the school or community and who can provide ongoing support to the teens.

Adult participation is crucial for the success of your Challenge Day. Their involvement in the activities strengthens student participation and they also help keep an eye out for teens that may benefit from follow-up support. Without a sufficient number of adults, it is necessary for you to limit the amount of youth in the room. Challenge Day is a great place to bring together representatives from different areas of your community, including adults from local civic organizations, law enforcement, fire departments, the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses or corporations, community foundations/local nonprofits, and of course parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, influential community members, and potential funding sources.

We definitely recommend participating in a Challenge Day in your area. The decision to include adults from outside of the immediate school community rests solely with the schools that we serve. Occasionally, schools request help with recruiting adult volunteers for their Challenge Day. Please visit our calendar to find schools in your area that are open to having adult participants from outside the school community attend their Challenge Day.

Not only is it okay, it is ideal. Some youth and adults fear that having parents in attendance will have a negative impact on the program. We have found the exact opposite to be true. Parents will not be assigned to the same small groups as their child, and in experiencing the day together, they learn communication tools that often enhance their relationships and have a profound and lasting positive effect.

See our Volunteer FAQ for the full scoop on adult participants.

You'll find the steps necessary to bring a Challenge Day in the How to Book a Challenge Day section of our website.

You can gain school support for Challenge Days through teachers, counselors, parents/PTA, leadership classes, school administrators or district level administrators. It often works best to approach both the PTA and parents while simultaneously approaching teachers or administrators to gain support from a diverse group of school participants.

Showing the DVD and providing a brief overview of the program can often be enough to convey Challenge Day's value.

We recommend the following materials for making presentations to schools:

• Our online videos or DVD which you can get as a thank you gift for a $15 donation on our Donate Now page.
• The one page overview, How It Works, including the price sheet and the multiple pages of school results.
  Download this page as a PDF

  Challenge Day Price Sheet

  The Challenge Day youth program is $3,200 per day* for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, and includes:

  • Pre-program coaching
  • One six-hour program for a maximum of 100 youth and a minimum of 25 adults
  • Two trained Program Leaders
  • Unlimited phone consultation
  • Banners to promote the teachings of Challenge Day
  • Post-program follow-up

  *Schools or organizations that require travel by air or are more than a 1-hour drive from Concord, CA must book a minimum of three consecutive days shared by no more than two schools per trip.

  Additional costs for schools or organizations that are more than a one hour drive from Concord, CA

  
  

  Lodging

  Two hotel rooms (equal to or above the quality of a Holiday Inn) for every night prior to your Challenge Days

  Schools have had success with local hotels donating rooms for these events.

  $300 per day

  
  
  

  Transportation

  Mileage or rental car (van or SUV required)

  $1000 – $3000

  
  
  
  
  

  Additional costs for schools or organizations that require overnight car or air travel*:

  
  

  Air Travel

  Two round-trip airline tickets from Oakland or San Francisco, CA

  $600-$2500

  Lodging

  Two hotel rooms (equal to or above the quality of a Holiday Inn) for every night prior to your Challenge Days Schools have had success with local hotels donating rooms for these events.

  Schools have had success with local hotels donating rooms for these events.

  $300 per day

  Transportation

  Car rental beginning the day prior to the workshop and for the duration of the workshop. SUV or Van is required to accommodate equipment.

  $100 - $150 per day

  Miscellaneous Supplies

  $100 – $150

  
  
  

  Total(Estimate for 3 days)

  $2,100 - $4,550

  * In rare circumstances, travel expenses may include an additional charge based on long distances between schools.

Planning for a Challenge Day takes at least 2-4 months depending on the level of experience your organization has with our program. We encourage you to book at least 90 days in advance of your desired Challenge Day date. Given the high demand for our programs and the limited availability of our Leaders, the Challenge Day calendar fills up very quickly. Many schools we work with book up to a year or more in advance.

For more information on booking a day, see How to Book a Challenge Day

Local community foundations, civic groups such as Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions groups, police departments, businesses, service clubs, school safety funds, drug use prevention funds, and private donors have all provided funding for the implementation of Challenge Days. Many schools have also used Drug Free and Safe Schools money for our programs. Inviting donors and influential members of your community to participate as adult participants during the Challenge Days can be a wonderful way for them to experience the immediate impact of their donation.

Some Circles and Be the Change Teams have created "Pay It Forward" programs where students who have gone through Challenge Day work with their parents to raise $30-35 to send someone else through Challenge Day. Many schools put on events to fundraise. Local businesses can "adopt" a class to go through Challenge Day. Local employers will match donations given by their employees.

* When approaching potential donors, we strongly recommend showing them the Teen Files DVD, offering our program brochures, and the cost sheet. It can be especially powerful for teens in your area to give testimonials about the positive effects of Challenge Day in their lives. If you need additional testimonials from students, parents, and educators, please see our Evaluations and Research page.

See How To Raise Funds for more fundraising ideas.

By the end of the six-hour Challenge Day program participants are empowered, motivated and excited to "Be the Change" in their schools and communities. We strongly recommend organizations to form a "Be the Change Team" to harness this energy and use it to identify and follow through with goals to effect positive change in the community. You can find information on forming a team in the Handbooks and Documents section of this website, along with other powerful tools for ongoing discussion and activity ideas. You can also visit our Be the Change website to read about Acts of Change other people around the world are doing …and blog some of your own!

Challenge Day has hosted numerous programs for companies, school districts, community organizations etc.

Challenge Day also provides adult staff trainings, retreats, conferences, keynote speeches and other specialized programs for corporations and businesses. Please contact office@challengeday.org for information on pricing and Leader availability.

The Next Step to Being the Change Workshop is a 3-day experiential personal-growth workshop for adults and teen leaders to deepen the skills and tools presented at Challenge Day. We address the underlying issues that create youth violence, racism, teasing, stereotyping, gender roles, social oppression, tobacco, drug and alcohol use. We look at our own relationship to oppression, our judgments, and our isolation. We then learn tools and skills to Be the Change we want to see in our lives, schools, and communities. Please check out our Next Step to Being the Change Community Workshop page for more information.

As part of our pilot evaluation process, participating schools administer a student survey. Results are on our School Results page. The survey can be found in the dropdown menu under Challenge Day > Evaluations & Research. You can also explore studies and testimonials about the effectiveness of Challenge Day.