STORIES OF IMPACT | Joey Y.
CatRock Co-Founder Shares His Passion for the Outdoors with Bronx Youth
November 25, 2020
The great outdoors has always played a significant role for CatRock co-founder Joey Yasgur who went to college in Colorado and was profoundly affected by his time in the mountains. Today, Joey’s love for the outdoors fuels his passion for sharing the benefits of nature with the students who participate in CatRock’s outdoor programs.
“Being outdoors centers me,” explains Joey. “The outdoors just simplifies everything. It really takes your mind, your thoughts, and your emotions, and puts them in a place where you can see situations in a different light. It affords you the opportunity to make certain decisions that may be more beneficial than the way you’ve been doing things. It’s my responsibility to share that experience and that passion for the outdoors with our CatRock kids along with educating them about being good stewards of the environment.”
Joey and his CatRock co-founder, Craig Meisner, developed the outdoor curriculum that provides underserved Bronx youth with wilderness experiences that help students develop leadership potential, self-confidence, and a commitment to becoming outdoor stewards and community leaders.
“It means a lot to give back to the Bronx community. We wanted to build an organization that can help these kids – through outdoor experiences – develop certain skills and a different mindset in life, plus get the self-confidence and a leg up that they aren’t always afforded”
“It means a lot to give back to the Bronx community. We wanted to build an organization that can help these kids – through outdoor experiences – develop certain skills and a different mindset in life, plus get the self-confidence and a leg up that they aren’t always afforded,” says Joey.
Along with the CatRock trips and activities that Joey enjoys with the kids, he hosts weekends away for the students at his northwest Connecticut lakefront home. Here the CatRock students, leaders, and volunteers bond, relax, and have fun together. It’s a special opportunity to share first time outdoor experiences with the CatRock students such as ice fishing and snowman competitions in winter and waterskiing, boarding, tubing, and kayaking in summer.
“It’s really great for them to see and experience something like that on a personal level,” enthuses Joey. “It’s wonderful to see the excitement on their faces and to see them have the kind of joy they have in a weekend together and share that with them. Getting to know them has just been as enriching for me as I hope it is for them.”
Joey Yasgur introduces CatRock students to ice fishing in Kent, CT.
As for the future, Joey would like to grow CatRock so they can do more and reach more kids. For instance, he plans on adding scholarship and tutoring programs to the CatRock College & Career Advisory program. “With additional funding, we can bring on more people, have more exciting programs and services, and offer them to more kids than we currently have,” he notes.
Meanwhile, Joey continues to do his best for the kids who motivate and inspire him and his CatRock colleagues. “It’s an awfully satisfying thing to be able to help kids who really need it, really appreciate it, and really thrive on it. To interact with these young kids, see the kind of people they are, the backgrounds that they come from, and see the spirit that is really there and that can be developed, grown, and cherished – that is something.”