True North Treks coming to U.P. in the future

ALGER COUNTY — An organization known as True North Treks will soon be calling the Upper Peninsula their new home.

True North Treks is a national non-profit organization that is working with young cancer patients and survivors. Their goal is to work on reconnecting these young adults with their lives. The organization has just received a property from the foundation known as, the Foglia Family Foundation.

The foundation was able to help True North Treks obtain the facility which will now be called the Walden Institute. This facility will be a beacon of hope for those who have been hit with cancer.

“When the lightning bolt of cancer strikes during this time, it can be devastating for all of those really important developmental milestones,” said The Founder and Executive Director of True North Treks, David Victorson. “Many people report feeling incredibly disconnected and almost in the dark from the life that they once knew. So what True North Treks tries to do is help get them get reconnected once again to their lives and futures.”

The foundation will support young adults from the ages of 18 to 39, where they will be able to adventure and reconnect with themselves and nature. Not only will they be in a safe environment but they will also have more accessibility to medical facilities and comfortable living conditions.

“With the Walden Institute, because it actually is this beautiful retreat facility where people can sleep in the bed and use their own restroom, as well as being much closer now to medical facilities and even have a phone out there,” added Victorson. “So we know will be able to bring people who might have more medical complications and we will be able to serve them more and better now because of the Walden Institute.”

This facility is currently going through renovations that will be completed in the future. The Walden Institution is determined to be open around the summer or fall of 2019. This will help provide people with the ability to get back into their lives and work through the hardships of cancer.

“Our overall goal… It ties right back to our mission which is to empower young adults with cancer and their caregivers,” said Victorson. “So they can reclaim their lives and the futures that cancer took from them.”

For more information about the new facility or ways to donate to True North Treks or the Walden Institute click here.