What is an Urban Excursion?
LOCATION: Downtown Toronto
FOR WHO: participants come from locally and around the world, ages 11-70
TO SIGN UP: info@urbanex.org
Empowering people to discover themselves through understanding others, Excursions are intense typically week-long experiences where participants are creatively inspired by the strengths and talents of people who have experienced: homelessness/borderline homelessness, abuse, the sex trade, addictions, physical/mental challenges, being refugees, racial & sexual discrimination.
Through these intense hands-on experiences and guided processing sessions, individuals from all walks of life learn to embrace adversity, examine their character, and face many of their fears and prejudices. Participants come out of these experiences deeply transformed, re-sensitized, living life more authentically, seeing themselves for who they are and seeing others as the unique and beautiful people they are no matter their lifestyle, culture, or circumstances. They then return to their own communities as fully-engaged members and more impassioned volunteers!
The actual extensively coordinated details of the Excursion schedule are kept a secret because..."life happens" and in real life people don't ever plan for sickness, addictions, accidents, abuse, or other circumstances out of their control. Therefore, to totally be able to be present in each experience we don't divulge the exercise until it happens. This gives you an amazing opportunity to respond honestly in the moment without preconceived expectations. UrbanEx directors, Alan & Em, are on site all week to lead the team through the exercises and debriefings.
To sign up as an individual:
Contact us for current Excursion dates, and our staff will add you to an Excursion team that works best with your schedule! The costs of the Excursion cover your lodging, exercise fees and minimal food expenses. Lodging is booked at the Canadiana Backpackers Inn (located in the core of downtown Toronto)where you will meet many amazing people from around the world!.
To sign up your group:
Excursions are perfect for teams of youth, university/college students, adults, media, corporate executives, artists, etc. Several long-term student programs have also used our Excursions as an intensive launching pad before doing their own programs or traveling to do service, using the Excursions as a way to not only unite the teams but also to give them very real and tangible perspectives to better love those that they are serving in communities around the world.
We work up group quotes based on the length of time requested (5-10 days, but the average recommended Excursion is 7 days) and the number of participants (8-20). The longer the stay, the more impact there is because there is more experience and more time for it all to sink in and more time for application! The costs of Excursions cover participant's lodging, exercise fees and minimal food expenses. Lodging is booked at the Canadiana Backpackers Inn (located in the core of downtown Toronto) where your team will meet many amazing people from around the world!