Meet Candice Young | Adventure Nonprofit Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Candice Young and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Candice, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
As the founder of Trek Relief, my journey began with a deeply personal response to the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal. Witnessing its devastating impact while trekking through a remote Himalayan village, I, Candice Young, along with co-founder Dr. Rob Williams, launched a fundraising campaign to aid the Langtang Valley survivors by bringing fundraising trekkers into the region.

The response to this campaign, characterized by the trekkers’ hands-on impact and positive feedback, inspired us to establish Trek Relief as a nonprofit in 2018, with a vision to apply this adventurous fundraising model globally and train other travelers to lead and create their own meaningful programs.

Our mission is to inspire adventure travelers into leadership by co-creating mutually beneficial service projects with global communities. We envision a world where adventure travelers evolve into impactful leaders by actively co-creating sustainable service projects with diverse global communities.

We aim to foster a culture of empathy, understanding, and empowerment, where every journey contributes to both travelers’ and communities’ betterment. We provide adventure, opportunities, and a supportive community, all while propelling a movement to #travelwithpurpose.

What should our readers know about your business?
I love that, somehow, I’ve found myself on a fundraising journey since 2016.

This journey has taken me through the depths of entrepreneurship – doing everything from moving back home with my parents and living off of savings to launching a nonprofit because I felt like it made sense for my vision.

I was so moved by the post-earthquake destruction that I had witnessed in the Himalayas, that my mind lingered on images I saw while trekking there. And I serendipitously met someone on the trail who told me how to carry out a successful fundraising campaign. I just had to scrounge up the courage to carry through with it.

I was in my mid-20s, with time, the tools, and the fueling question of – “What should I do with my life?” But, despite the hesitation, running this fundraiser felt like the perfect pinnacle of my experiences, my passions, and my connections. So, I did the scariest thing that I’d ever done until then – I launched my first fundraiser for the earthquake survivors, asking for $50,000.

And though there have been the typical ups and downs of an entrepreneur’s journey since my initial fundraiser launched in 2016, I’ve felt blessed and grateful through every moment. I’ve learned that fundraising gives opportunities for the people around you to step into their angel selves, and also opportunities for you to fall in love with them even more.

Though the journey has involved a lot of time, energy, and giving, it has also felt fun, exciting, and extremely connective – to friends and communities all around the world. Over the years, it has been supported by the loving hands and generosity of those around me who show their care through donations, participation, and offers to help. Trek Relief is the product of a community that is willing and responsive.

The vision was simple: to make what I did as easy as possible for others to do. It provides two services: not only does the fundraising model work for any kind of project; but as it helped me find my purpose, I recognized that it could help others find their “golden path” too.

Trek Relief is a beautiful way to combine passions with experiences and purpose – all while being in the company of old and new friends.

And here we are, seven years later, having applied this model in 4 (soon 5!) different countries, and supported everything from disaster response to environmental projects.

I’d like others to feel invited to come and check out our projects – and who knows – perhaps come back and lead or create a program of their own, one day. I’d like to invite everyone to try out what we mean by #travelwithpurpose.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Take a drive / go on a hike through the Angeles National Forest Explore the beaches and hills of Malibu
Explore the hikes around Palos Verdes
Hang out on a Sunday afternoon around Venice / Santa Monica beach
Check out a show at Wisdome
Spend a day in Koreatown at a Korean Spa and get cold noodles at The Corner Spot after
Check out Huntington / Descanso Gardens

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents – for providing me with everything that they could for me to succeed.

The countless members of the immediate and extended Trek Relief family – it is because of you that it is the nonprofit that it is today.

Website: https://trekrelief.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trekrelief/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trekrelief/?viewAsMember=true

Twitter: https://twitter.com/trekrelief

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trekrelief/

Youtube: https://youtu.be/t3Id5NX-diU

Image Credits
Candice Young Rob Winkler Aryeh Carni Weston Boyles David Doucette