Verle Duerden, a successful business man in Provo, Utah, wanted to find a way to "give back" to the communities that had been so good to him. For years as a wilderness outfitter, he had taken groups into the outdoors and knew he could truly affect the lives of young people if he could get them to feel the "magic" that exists in nature. As owner of Action Whitewater Adventures, (http://www.riverguide.com)he began taking groups of disabled kids down the Salmon River in Idaho.

Soon, Verle came in contact with Professor Mark Widmer of Brigham Young University and together they planned ways to help even more youth. In 2002, the Wilderness Instruction and Leadership Development (W.I.L.D.) project was born as part of the Recreation Management and Youth Leadership Department at BYU. Verle's son, Mat Duerden, became leader of the project as a graduate student in the department and a BYU fund raiser, Kyle Tresner, became actively involved in making the plans reality.

From humble beginnings of just 27 boys that first year, Camp WILD has now affected the lives of literally hundreds of boys and girls. It has grown and expanded so wonderfully that a new 501(c)3 organization, The Journey Foundation, was formed in 2007 to handle the growth and expansion.

The partnership continues between BYU's Recreation Management and Youth Leadership Department and has expanded to include partnerships with BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii. Journey's program now offers summer impact experiences in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii as well as a year around follow-up program that builds on the lessons of the summer.

Beginning in the Fall of 2008, a new exciting partnership with Roots of Freedom (www.Rootsoffreedom.org) and America's Freedom Festival (www.freedomfestival.org) will engage schools throughout Utah in an extraordinary new program called National Treasure Quest. With the addition of this new program, Journey actively engages thousands of youth each year in life-changing experiences!