Open Doors Outdoors
Opening doors of hearts, minds and bodies in the outdoors!
The Outdoors are healing and restoring lives
Time outdoors changes people’s nervous systems,” says UC Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner, “It is as effective as any PTSD intervention we have.”
“We hope to make public lands part of a common healthcare prescription,” Stacy Bare, Sierra Club Outdoors director.
“We found that nature decreases the trauma response, improves cognitive function, and promotes healing,” Razani says. “Our study showed that park visits increase resilience in children. It doesn’t take away the adversity in their lives but it buffers stress. Hormones, blood pressure, and heart rate normalize in nature.” Nooshin Razani is a pediatrician and director of the Center for Nature and Health at Children’s Hospital Oakland in California.
ODO Mission
To take Veterans, their families and young people into the outdoors for re-connection, healthy activity and healing.
ODO Operations
Operation: Case Mountain
Round Trip: 2.8 Miles
Mountain range: The Manchester Mountains
Leave Base: 0800
Arrive Trail head: 0830
Summit: 0930
Return Trail head: 1000
Return to base: 1030
Operation: Mount Greylock
Tallest mountain in Massachusetts
Elevation: 3,491′
Round Trip: 4.8 Miles
Mountain range: The Berkshires Mountains
Leave Base: 0800
Arrive Trail head: 1000
Summit: 1145
Return Trail head: 1245
Return to base: 1500
Operation: Mount Monadnock
Most climbed mountain in North America
Elevation: 3,166′
Round Trip: 4 Miles
Location: Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Leave Base: 0800
Arrive Trail head: 1000
Summit: 1145
Return Trail head: 1245
Return to base: 1500
Operation: Mount Washington
Tallest mountain in New Hampshire
Elevation: 6,289′
Round Trip: 7.9 Miles
Location: Gorham, New Hampshire
Leave Base: Night Before
Arrive Trail head: 0700
Summit: 1100
Return Trail head: 1600
Return to base: 2100
How Can You Help?
The cost for all four trips is $1150 per participant which includes a final overnight hike on Mount Washington. Donations pay 100% of the costs for all program participants. Participants will be provided guided adventures, transportation to and from locations and meals.
You can help in a couple ways:
- You can give a one-time donation or a monthly commitment of any size to go towards expenses.
- You can sponsor a Veteran(s) or young person(s) for all four adventures!
- You can approach your employer or others on our behalf for donations.
Board of Directors
Brenden Healy
Controller
Code name: Tax Man
Father of 5 and committed to his community. Brenden is a Tax Partner at Whittlesey and loves spending time outdoors with his wife and kids. His financial expertise and commitment to helping others will take ODO and it's participants into adventures for many years to come!
Ray Long
Advocacy / Vice Chairman
Code Name: Ray Man
Father of two wonderful girls and husband to the incomparable Carolyn, Ray is a long-time hiker, runner and triathlete with a passion for travel, the outdoors and the environment. Ray’s day job is Senior Vice President for external affairs at Clearway Energy Group, one of the largest renewable energy companies in the United States, where he is responsible for public policy and advocacy. When Ray is not working or running, he’s usually traveling with his family.
Al Chin
Preventive Safety
Codename: Mr. Prepared
Al is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the ArmyNational Guard. He serves as the Preventive Medicine Officer, keeping his troops safe in all environments and combat ready. He has faithfully served our country for 27 years and "absolutely enjoys helping his military comrades." Al works full time as a Quality Assurance Supervisor with Defense Contract Management Agency. He is a family man with a lovely wife and two very energetic children. His favorite family time is spent outdoors playing sports and family golf.
Jessica Chenery
Team Welfare / Secretary
Codename: The Chaplain
Jessica is proudly currently serving as a Master Sargent in the 103 AW CT Air National Guard. She was deployed overseas as the Superintendent of Chapel Operations for the 103 AW United Arab Emirates in 2017. She loves her husband Jerry, being a mom, serving her church and managing her coffee shop in Glastonbury, Connecticut named "A Cup of Joy Coffee and Tea". She also enjoys hiking and traveling with her family!
Matthew Mund
Activities and Fitness
Code Name: Fit Man
Matt is a proud father of 2 and resides in Glastonbury CT with his wife Megan. He owns mission FITNESS where the goal is to help each member find their path to their best self. Through commitment, hard work, consistency, healthy lifestyle and a motivating support system all of us can achieve whatever we set our minds to. He recently did 3144 pull-ups in 12 hours to raise money for Veterans.
Ernie Vigue
Accounting / Treasurer
Code Name: Money Man
As a manager at Bloom Shapiro, Ernie has over 20 years of professional experience in the non-profit sector, including reviewing and preparing financial statements; preparing budgets and forecasts; grant reporting; and developing financial policies and procedures.
Ernie is passionate about all things fitness and outdoor related. He'd also be lost without his wife and best friend, Dawn.
Davey Edwards
Founder / Chairman
Codename: Jarhead
Served proudly in the United States Marine Corps and worked as a Mortgage Banker for 12 years. A father of 3 amazing children and an ultra runner. Davey has run across the entire state of Connecticut in 41 hours, completed the Tahoe 200 Mile Endurance Run, multiple other 50 to 100 mile foot races and has accumulated over a 1000 miles on the Appalachian Trail (AT). His passions are his faith, family and sharing the outdoor life! Wilderness First Aid Certified (WFA)
Volunteers
This organization would be at a loss to serve without our volunteers who share their experiences and passion for life with others.
Matt Freiman
Matt is a Combat Veteran having served in Afghanistan and is passionate about helping Veterans. Loves training and running ultra marathons with his wife and being in the outdoors!
Amy Edwards
Amy is an educator in the endurance word and within the public school system. As a teacher with her Master's in Education and as a multi-sport coach, she loves helping others pursue their dreams, embracing the learning process.
Jesse Santostefano
We’re proud to have Air Force Field Combat Communications Veteran Jesse on board as an ODO volunteer. He served in Afghanistan in 09, 11-12, puts family first and loves all things outdoors!
Cindy Driscoll
Cindy is a Speech Pathologist and has been hiking since she was a kid and has conquered mountains all across New York, California, Oregon and Washington. She lives in Glastonbury with her husband and 4 kids. Loves hiking because the mountains feel like "home" no matter where they stand!
Mark Guasta
Mark was the superintendent at Hartford Detention Center with the Judicial Department. He retired after 21 years with the State of Connecticut and now sells personal and business insurance. He lives in Glastonbury with his wife Tina and three children. He enjoys hiking with the family and playing golf with friends.
Keith Morgan
Keith is a Air Force and Army Veteran that bravely served in Bosnia. He is passionate about being a dad, helping Veterans and hiking the Green Mountains of Vermont!
Emotional Support Animal (ESA)
Kona Lee is a gentle Labrador Retriever that will be present at any adventure will she will be helpful to all participants!
The Bridge of ODO
A bridge is intended to form a connection between two things. The bridge of ODO was originally built around 1780 and is hidden on a back road in an old farming community. The locals say when you cross that bridge something beautiful happens... and it does. Crossing over you shift from a busy, cluttered place into a place where your mind is opened to an old way of life, a natural way of life. Whether wading through a brook or climbing the tallest mountain in New England, Open Doors Outdoors will help take participants over "bridges" in nature that will open doors in their hearts, minds and bodies. These bridges will help them recharge and regroup to head back to their life with a new found peace and confidence.
ODO Photo Gallery
ODO Vision
The vision of this non profit is to help Veterans, their families and young people get "unstuck" by exposing them to the outdoors. The founder, Davey Edwards, is a Marine Veteran. Dealing with trauma is not an easy thing for anyone to do. During one of the more challenging times in his life he was encouraged to complete a program provided by the VA and has never regretted that decision. In addition, he has always been amazed by the power of getting outdoors and how that has helped to clear his mind, help him refocus and ultimately restore a sense of confidence. Always looking for opportunities to give back and to help people get back on their feet, Davey established Open Doors Outdoors. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization it was founded with the mission to share outdoor adventures with Veterans, their families and young people. Open Doors Outdoors (ODO) will bring Veterans in the area on hiking "operations" throughout New England, take young people exploring local woodlands while learning about wildlife and bring families together for a time of sharing in the outdoors. Through events like these, ODO seeks to help folks to find some peace, refocus, be challenged and have a lot of fun in the process. We will be providing our dedicated group of donors with periodic newsletters and access to our closed-group Facebook page. We want you to be part of our family and to share in the experience you are helping to create for others.
ODO Corporate Supporters
TruNorth Construction
We build homes based on QUALITY and HONESTY, but the the most Important thing we build is RELATIONSHIPS.
Go Gear Direct
Introducing GoGearDirect: The gateway between those who make great things and those who want to pack great things.
NOVO Precision
Novo is a progressive supply chain partner with world class engineering and continuous improvement capabilities.
mission FITNESS
mission FITNESS was founded in 2008 on the principle of helping people be the best version of themselves.
Partners
HelpVet.Net
We help Veterans, Active Military and their Families with Discounts, Benefits, Resources, Programs, Jobs & More.
The Peter P. Monaco Jr., Detachment 40 of the Marine Corps League
Detachment 40 endeavors to honor the sacrifices of those who serve honorably by enhancing their lives and the lives of their families, both at home and abroad.
Do you have any questions? Is there a Veteran or young person that you'd like to sponsor?
Please let us know.