Next Step Leads & Coordinates
Sometimes an adventure begins with a big change that provides an unexpected opportunity. That’s a good time to iinvite Next Step to join you. We can help you find a different perspective, step into a leadership role, do some problem solving, organizing, and bringing a fresh look to your work.
The work has often grown from other, more specialized projects.
If your organization gets bogged down in meetings, or needs an objective perspective on a project, we may have something to offer.
Central Iowa Yoga Retreat
This annual event is one of our biggest projects. We‘re proud of how we transformed it into a day of community-building among yoga teachers and practitioners. We’ve even had people come to the retreat as their VERY FIRST yoga experience, and have a wonderful day! Each year we work to make the retreat:
- A welcoming, healthy environment
- Promote conversation and connection among the participants
- A place where people can sample a variety of yoga flavors
- FUN!
Thank you thank you! I’m just beginning to find my tribe here and this was a boon.
Mary Beth Einhorn, Central Iowa Yoga Retreat Participant
Most of the retreats we’ve organized have been at the Raccoon River Nature Lodge. It’s come to feel like home to us, and this year the Retreat is on Earth Day, so we’re adding some new ways to help us all reconnect with our Earth Mother.
Have you always dreamed of hosting a big event?
Mindfulness and Movement
Bringing about a better world is important to us, and we do it through mindfulness and movement.
From leading mindfulness classes and teacher workshops to creating materials, we help teachers and youth developers counter the distractions of 21st Century life.
- Mindfulness & movement classes for youth
- Teacher & youth developer workshops
- Mindfulness & Movement Activity Cards–The Foundation Deck and the Growth Deck
- Activities that help you help your group FOCUS, CONNECT, BREATHE, MOVE, SETTLE, PLAY AND CREATE
The activity card decks feature short activities that can easily be incorporated into busy classrooms, yoga classes, meetings, or everyday life.
Would you like some help paying better attention to your life?
Food Education Team
The team at Next Step Adventure co-coordinates the state-wide Iowa Food Education Team. The team is made up of local and state entities that are working to increase the use of healthy, local foods in schools and early childhood education sites.
This is how we do the work:
- Co-host monthly food education strategy meetings
- Prepare agendas and minutes, with staff from the Iowa Department of Public Health
- Facilitate monthly discussions
- Engage with partners in bi-monthly Farm to School, and Early Child Care Coalition meetings
- Support five food education virtual meetups
Imagine freeing up your schedule from some of the routine tasks of chairing meetings. Maybe even take some of those meetings off your schedule. Think of the time it’ll open up to plan, and even dream. To supervise and look at the big picture. All with a surrogate doing a stellar job of planning, organizing, and recording as the work is done.
Would you like some help coordinating your team?
Chrysalis Afterschool
Evaluating the Chrysalis Afterschool Program for Girls was the first contract secured when we launched Next Step. That evaluation project expanded to include:
- Professional development
- Curriculum development
- Project management
The Next Step Team loves helping accomplish important work like the Chrysalis afterschool girls’ groups. So many girls have benefited from the experience that Chrysalis offered. We love to see programs and people grow!
How can we help you achieve your goals?
Teachers Going Green
Keep Iowa Beautiful and Teachers Going Green deployed so many of the skills and so much of the mission of Next Step. Starting in 2009, Gerry Schnepf asked Martha McCormick to develop an educational program to fulfill the educational mission of Keep Iowa Beautiful, which then had a strong educational, environmental emphasis. Martha and the team’s used their skills and experience in education & youth development to develop an online curriculum through a process that included:
- Meeting with stakeholders across the state to gather their input
- Sussing out curriculum requirements and aligning them with learning activities so teachers could justify using the lessons
- Arranging for external evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the program.
We continue to work at getting kids outdoors and into the garden through projects with ISU Extension, Waukee Schools, and Field to Family.
Blog posts related to getting kids outdoors
How can we help you get your organization moving in a new direction?