Our Facility
SkyWay Leadership Institute is located at the $5 million, state-of-the-art HelmZar Challenge Course, which is the largest ropes course in North America. Our courses, with both high and low elements, have been thoughtfully designed to meet the many needs of our participants.
Upcoming Events
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Our Programs
Our programs are designed specifically for each group we serve. Whether it’s a school hoping to foster hope among at-risk students, a corporate team working on leadership skills, or a community group that wants to develop trust in one another — we can help.
School Programs
Being a kid is hard. Throw in bullies, trouble making friends, and trust issues; being a kid becomes practically impossible. SKYWAY can help students work towards their goals, return to school more successful, and hopeful than they’ve ever felt.
Through FUN and (evidence-based) curriculum, we help them develop trusting relationships, cultivate individual talents, and leadership skills; while having a BLAST!
Community Programs
If your group is looking for a way to improve group dynamics; SKYWAY can help. We provide a safe and fun space for everyone to step outside of their comfort zone. We focus on increasing group cohesion, shared experiences, and helping everyone learn about one another. We work with many community groups, including churches, Boy/Girl Scouts, family reunions, sports teams, military, and first responders, etc.
Corporate Programs
Are you ready to plan your next corporate adventure? SKYWAY assists business teams in breaking down communication barriers, working through management changes, overcoming personal and professional obstacles, and identifying leadership opportunities. Our engaging and immersive activities can be designed for the company’s specific needs including strategy, leadership, collaboration, and team growth.
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In June of 2018 the Tulsa Police Activities League (TPAL) began as a new community policing effort for Tulsa youth. The program, which works to build relationships between the police force and at-risk children, took off and expanded rapidly. In fact, by March of 2019 the hard work was recognized by the Downtown Rotary of Tulsa during their prestigious Above & Beyond awards ceremony.
The only thing missing for the program was a place for it to call home. Together with the Tulsa Police Foundation and other generous donors, the HelmZar Challenge Course, owned by SKYWAY Leadership Institute, was revived. The repurposing of the facility provided TPAL with an official base of operations and became the “Home of TPAL.” SKYWAY is specially equipped to provide TPAL and programs like it with data that shows statistically significant increases in Hope, Leadership and most importantly for TPAL and Tulsa Police – TRUST.
This strategic alliance impacts everyone involved. Tulsa Police and the youth of Tulsa are brought together at SKYWAY, and use the HelmZar Challenge Course as a tool to rebuild trust. Together they work through tough obstacles, find new ways forward and the motivation to reach common goals. Their work illustrates that it is possible to increase trust and impart hope through hands-on learning.
Learn more about this program at: https://tulsapal.org/
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In 2014 – when Ferguson rocked our sensibilities and exposed the inaccuracy of our perceptions of race relations – concerned citizens took it upon themselves to fully understand the current climate of police interactions in Tulsa.
The concerned citizens, most from the Down Town Rotary Club of Tulsa, conducted informal meetings, focus groups around the Tulsa metro, and traveled to meet with Citizens of Ferguson. Through this research, they found a growing divide existed between the Tulsa police and the communities they serve. The group decided to find a way to change the way the community — and especially Tulsa youth — viewed and communicated with the police force.
In 2015 Community Trust Champions (CTC) was established by Tulsa Rotarians. In this program, young people and police officers were brought together for a full day of hands-on learning.
The outcomes spoke for themselves. The same kids who, at the beginning of the day, perceived all officers as “bad guys” who couldn’t be trusted were now clambering to have them on their team. Also, and perhaps even more surprising, the officers began to see these kids in a different light. They weren’t just “bad kids.” In fact, what they’d observed over the years when engaging youth; they now realized that the “bad” behavior was uncontrolled outward expressions of significant trauma experienced by these kids.
This program anecdotally worked as it was intended: to bring youth and police together. But anecdotes weren’t enough. In 2019, the SKYWAY Leadership Institute provided this program with robust data tracking. Our passion for research and our need to track and analyze data led to a partnership with OU-Tulsa. Now, with the data to back it up, we can demonstrate statistically significant increases in the values of Hope, Leadership and most importantly – TRUST.
Learn More about this program at: http://www.communitytrustchampions.com/
Unique Experience
Science Of Hope
Hope is a powerful thing, and at SKYWAY we focus on cultivating this tool in every
participant. By helping our participants find hope within themselves and their
circumstances, we help relieve stress, improve behavior, and change social outcomes. Using the science of hope, trauma-informed instruction, race and minority relations building and evidence-based, hands-on learning, our facility can change lives.
After partnering with Jason Featherngill, Research Specialist at the Hope
Research Center, we have found statistically significant increases in HOPE, Trust, and Leadership when participants spend 5 hours involved in our programming.
“Hope is the leading indicator of success in relationships, academics, career, and business—as well as of a healthier, happier life,”
Dr. Shane Lopez
Science of HOPE: it is not emotion. It is not an idea. It is not a wish or expectation. HOPE is about goals, willpower, and pathways. A person with high hope has goals, the motivation to pursue them, and the determination to overcome obstacles and find new pathways to achieve them. Most importantly HOPE is a science with identifiable, measurable elements. Science of Hope by Chan Hellman, Ph.D. @ Hope Research Center OU-Tulsa.
For more information on the science of hope, visit chanmhellman.com and learn about
Dr. Chan Hellman’s research in this emerging field.
TESTIMONIALS
Shawna Simpson
My students have enjoyed the programs and it leads to a tremendous change in how they view themselves and each other!
Christine Norton
I am an outdoor, experiential educator and professor of social work who does research on the effectiveness of adventure-based group work. Quite simply: IT WORKS! Character education is just as important (if not more so) than high stakes testing.
Courtney Padgett
I was challenged on this ropes course in high school, and learned to trust other students in physically daunting situations. This is an opportunity for Tulsa kids to grow in leadership, communication and respect for one another.
Angela Mitchell
I had to talk to a student to get him to walk across a platform to me. We created such a strong bond in that moment, I never had a problem with him trusting me in whatever I put in front of him.
Kris Koster
I’ve seen how a day at HelmZar can change someone’s life. And building character in a completely positive atmosphere can affect a child for a lifetime.
Our Donors
