our non-profit

When you work with us, you are also directly supporting MB’s Trailhead. This nonprofit will serve and provide alternative therapy activities to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities as well as children ages 0-18 that are in the foster care system. Our foundational pillars are love, kindness, respect, and inclusivity. With those values in mind, we will provide this population with opportunities to far exceed the limits or barriers that they might think are in their way.

MB’s Trailhead will offically break ground summer of 2024. We will use a combination of nature with dance, music, and art therapy to teach coping skills, emotion regulation, goal setting, life skills, and how to accomplish goals that are far beyond what many of us thought were possible. We believe that everyone has endless potential, and our methods allow that potential to flourish and thrive.

Before jumping into the world of photography, Kailyn (MB’s Trailhead Founder) worked in foster care and with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She studied psychology with a concentration in child & adolescent development, as well as dance, music, and art. She worked in settings that included high levels of trauma as well as situations with challenging behaviors. By using these therapeutic techniques (referred as alternative therapy activities), she saw all of her clients meet and exceed goals and step into thiving versions of themselves. These activities are intended to be used “in addition to” individualized therapy.

Love, art, dance, music, and nature are all innately healing. No matter our background or experiences, we can all use opportunities that foster healthy growth and a safe space. At MB’s Trailhead, we believe everyone should feel loved, accepted, and supported. As our elopement clients, you help us spread these healing opportunities.

who we help

MB’s Trailhead will partner with state services as well as other non-profits to provide therapeutic care and alternative therapy activities. We do not have licensed therapists on our team (yet), but are able to provide healing care and activities to individuals that will be referred to us by licensed therapists, mental health professionals, and social service providers. We are not a state service providor or an organization authorized to diagnose, determine federal/state care, or provide medical services. Instead, we are an “in addition to” non profit to partner with local services and provide an elevated level of care and therapeutic opportunities in safe spaces.

Our goals and operation techniques will be individualized for every person that we serve. As human beings, we are all different with very unique needs. Some of the people we will support will need trauma healing due to life experiences. Other clients might be working on physical ability and development. We will address all of these goals and areas with specific activities that are created to cater to different needs.

what makes us different

We believe the children we serve can summit any goal. By providing a supportive community and activties that are innately healing, we help the children we serve step into the best versions of themselves. Our activities are fun with a masked pupose. For example, we utilize dance therapy with movement that is proven to release trauma. While engaging, the children we serve feel like they are just dancing. We offer outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and rock climbing where the children we serve can gain a sense of accomplishment and learn basic life skills. We utilize art methods and music therapy methods that are proven to be emotionally healing and teach coping skills. All of these avenues give the people we serve a therapeutic outlet for the stresses of life while also helping them set and reach personal goals.

We have spent time researching other services that were intended to help and heal, and have seen how many of these service took a very wrong turn. At MB’s Trailhead we will never utilize harsh, abusive, or forceful techniques. We believe in consent, respect, and protection for the population we serve. We work as a collaborative team with caregivers, state service providors, and non-profit services to maintain transparency, as well as to individualize care for each person that we serve.

how you help

When you work with us, you are already helping! A portion of your elopement goes directly towards funding MB’s Trailhead. We are fully funded through generous donations, government funding and grants, as well as by awesome clients like you who want to go the extra mile and do good when they elope.

what’s around the corner

We have big plans for the future of MB’s Trailhead! Currently, we are about to launch a website, recruiting, vetting, and training volunteers, fine tuning our alternative therapy activities, and coordinating with state and non-profit services to help children who could benefit from what we have to offer.

We are putting extensive amounts of thought, care, and planning into the services we provide. Many of the populations we serve are considered a “vulnerable population” and we want to ensure that we protect them physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This takes time, so we are planning on officially breaking ground the summer of 2024.

even further up the trail

Between 2025 and 2028, we plan to employ staff at the administrative, therapeutic, and client support level. We love our volunteers and their giving hearts, but we also believe that people in social work work very hard and should be compensated for their generosity and time. Our care would be elevated with licensed therapists and social workers on board. It’s also no secret that businesses run better with administrative staff. We have big plans for a team that will help MB’s Trailhead serve as many clients as possible.

Down the road, we have even more big and exciting plans. We have our eyes and hearts on land in the high country. Purchasing land would allow us to build a physical location to operate out of. This location will also host therapeutic retreats and events (art camp, dance festivals, drum circles, and so much more!). MB’s Trailhead also believes in spreading good outside of the services we offer. We will open this physical location up to other non-profits to use like conservation groups, recovery programs, food pantries, and safe houses (when it is safe and able to have services overlapping). We want to help as many people/populations as we can, and opening physical doors will give us the ability to do that.

many thanks to you

We are so grateful to our elopement clients who have helped make this dream possible. We have hearts for service and are thrilled that we get to advocate for change right in our back yard. If you want to get involved with MB’s Trailhead, reach out! We would love to have more big hearts on our team.