A surprisingly simple path to happiness.

New research from Cornell and Movember confirms what Camping to Connect has practiced all along: happiness grows from purpose and community, not self-focus.

Every time our young men step into the outdoors to mentor, lead, and contribute, they discover what the science is now proving—connection is the cure.

Read how purpose, nature, and brotherhood are changing lives

When the van door slides open, it’s often met with hesitation. The young men inside step out cautiously. There’s a moment, brief yet profound, when the silence of the woods settles around them. One of them, usually around 14 or 15 years old, whispers incredulously, “I didn’t know it could be this quiet.” That quiet is the first exhale; a subtle, significant release from the constant tension of urban survival.

Being able to access nature is a basic human right, yet systemic racism has denied this right to many people of color. A right that has been sometimes forgotten as such by the people who need it most, largely in part because of generational trauma, lack of education, resources, representation, fear, and even shame.