Recreation & Adventure

Operation Adventure.

Connection doesn't always happen sitting around a table. Sometimes it happens halfway through a hike, on the water, during a workout, at a ballgame, or while trying something you've never done before. Recreation & Adventure creates opportunities for veterans, service members, and military families to get active, experience something new, and build genuine relationships along the way.

How to plug in All four pillars

Esprit de Corps Foundation veterans kayaking on the Chicago River

Why this pillar exists

The uniform came off. The structure that kept a lot of veterans alive came off with it.

U.S. veterans die by suicide every single day — the leading cause of premature death among post-9/11 veterans.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report

48%

of post-9/11 veterans meet criteria for at least one mental-health condition, and most do not receive consistent care.

Wounded Warrior Project · Annual Warrior Survey

When the uniform comes off, veterans lose the daily physical structure and unit-level brotherhood that kept them alive. Fitness, movement, and time outdoors are among the highest-impact non-clinical interventions for veteran mental health — and Chicago has almost no year-round veteran-facing recreation infrastructure built for adults over 30.

Esprit runs veteran-designed adventures on the water, in the parks, and at the Muster — no-cost or low-cost whenever we can pull it off, and every event engineered as an on-ramp back to movement, purpose, and unit.

How it works

We don’t have to build it alone.

EDC does not need to own a gym, kayak fleet, campground, or professional sports team to create incredible experiences. We partner with organizations that already do these things well. Businesses provide space, expertise, equipment, and sponsorship. EDC brings participants, volunteers, community, and programming. Together we create experiences that might otherwise be inaccessible, expensive, intimidating, or simply unknown to veterans and military families.

Recreation providers

Climbing gyms · CrossFit and fitness facilities · Kayaking outfitters · Outdoor outfitters · Ski resorts · Golf courses

Sports & entertainment

Professional sports organizations · Racing organizations · Museums and entertainment venues · Adventure companies

Wellness & the outdoors

Camping and outdoor organizations · Fishing organizations · Wellness and recovery providers

What we build

Some we run ourselves. Some we build with a partner. All of them serve the community.

Adventure Days

Kayaking, hiking, climbing, camping, skiing, fishing.

Fitness & Competition

Group workouts, competitions, challenges, races.

Sports Experiences

Games, practices, behind-the-scenes moments, veteran nights.

Wellness Through Movement

Yoga, recovery, mobility, recreation, outdoor wellness.

Try Something New

Businesses introduce veterans to experiences they may never have considered.

Under this pillar

Recurring programs.

Programming that puts Recreation & Adventure into practice year-round.

The EDC Remembrance Muster

Group Kayaking

Hiking & Trail Walks

Outdoor Rucks

Seasonal Adventures

Lead this pillar

Recreation & Adventure needs a team. Want to run it?

Pillar Team Leaders own the calendar, recruit the volunteers, and keep the work moving between events. If you can commit real time and want your fingerprints on something meaningful, this is the door.

Lead Recreation & Adventure

Build with EDC

Have an experience to share?

If your business or organization has a facility, activity, expertise, equipment, or experience that could bring veterans together, let's build something.

Partner with EDC

On the Water

Chicago River, from a kayak.

Kayak outings on the Chicago River, run with Urban Kayak Chicago. All skill levels, open to veterans and military families — no-cost or low-cost whenever we can pull it off.

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Flagship Event

The EDC Remembrance Muster.

Chicago’s Memorial Day fitness & wellbeing weekend — nine signature experiences, planned heat divisions from RX athletes to the 18+ community heat, and every op designed as an on-ramp back to movement, purpose, and unit.

Memorial Day Weekend 2027 · Chicago

See the Muster

Signature programs