.png)
501(C)(3)
Human Development
Learn. Grow. Lead. Transform
Inspired to Explore Inc (ITE) is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit human development organization with the mission to explore nature, inspire change, and enhance our health and well-being. The organization has a vision to inspire change in people's lives and livelihoods through a deeper connection with the natural world. ITE uses the transformative power of nature, education, leadership, and community to help people learn, grow, lead, and transform.. Over the past three years, ITE has hosted 20 + free events that includes community hikes, runs and outdoor wellness events where more than 800 people participated from Dauphin, Cumberland, York, and Perry Counties, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. Majority of the participants reported that the outdoor experiences like hiking and biking have positively changed how they felt in their body, their mind, and their sense of belonging. ITE's active programs includes outdoor wellness advocacy (Nature Rx Advocacy), leadership training and development, nature-powered productivity, education and scholarships, and youth empowerment are not a menu of separate services.
What every human being is looking for is notsuccess - it is belonging.
Not the belonging that comes from fitting in.
The belonging that comes from being fully seen.
Belonging is not a reward for those who have already arrived.
It is the foundation that makes arriving possible.
It is the ground beneath the trail.
That feeling — its presence when it is given, its weight when it is withheld — is what Inspired to Explore Inc is built around. We believe that without belonging, even the most capable person cannot find their footing. This is an organization for everyone who has ever needed to find that ground.
For the person who just stepped off a plane into a country that does not yet know their name. For the executive sitting in their car, successful by every visible measure and quietly hollow in a way they cannot explain. For the teenager who has never been told they belong in rooms where decisions are made. For the community that has grit in abundance and opportunity in scarcity. For the person carrying grief, or starting over, or searching — with an urgency they feel but cannot quite name — for something real.
Every one of them belongs here. Every one of them already does.
Where it all began
One person.
One wall.
One realization.
“
"Not the kind of hollow that announces itself. The kind that hides behind a full calendar and a confident handshake. The kind that waits until the performance pauses — and then asks, with a clarity that can no longer be postponed: is this it?"
— Neil Bhandari, Founder & Executive Director, ITE
From the outside, the picture was complete. A thriving healthcare business. A top-producing real estate team. A portfolio of investments. A beautiful family. By every metric the world uses to measure a life — the picture was complete.
And on the inside, something was hollow.
Out of shape. Stressed in the way high-performing people learn to normalize. Searching, in a way that felt urgent and inarticulate, for something that the achievements had not been able to provide: meaning. Real health. A reason to wake up that felt bigger than a calendar.
In 2022, all of that converged into a wall. And the wall — as walls do, when you stop fighting them and start listening — turned out to be a door.
ITE Timeline at a glance
2022 - THE WALL
The search begins
The decision to go looking leads to Wharton's Management Development Program. Not for another credential — for something with no name yet. Space to think. Tools to understand not just how to succeed, but how to live.
2022 - NEPAL
The mountain answers
Weeks on the Annapurna Circuit. Ancient villages, glaciers, rhododendron forests. Nepal recalibrated everything — the definition of wealth, of health, of what it actually means to be alive. Before leaving, a scholarship is established at Arniko School. The belief crystallizes: personal growth, if it is real, becomes a responsibility to others.
2023 - FOUNDED
ITE is born
Inspired to Explore Inc is founded. Not from a business plan — from a breakthrough. From the direct, lived experience of what becomes possible when a person is given the tools, the challenge, and the community to discover who they truly are. live.
2024 - LEADERSHIP
.🧭
Maxwell & the rope team
Joining the John Maxwell Leadership Team. The conviction that the highest form of leadership is developing more leaders — that the greatest measure of a person's influence is not what they accomplish, but what they help others accomplish.
2024 - THE SUMMITS
.🌍
The message, lived
Four of Seven Summits reached. World Marathon Majors underway. Every peak delivers the same truth in a different landscape: you are more capable than you believe. The wall is not the last word. The horizon belongs to everyone willing to keep walking.
NOW - THE COMMUNITY
🤝
Growing. Climbing. Reaching back.
One person's honest reckoning became a community's mission. The moment that person began to share it, they discovered something more important than any summit: they were not alone on the mountain. They had never been. And neither had anyone else.
Why nature
Nature is the most democratic classroom that has ever existed.
"The trail does not check your resume. The forest does not ask your immigration status. The mountain does not require a degree or a down payment. It asks only: are you here? Are you paying attention? Are you willing to be changed?"
🤲 Nature connects Shared terrain dissolves the walls that keep people separated. On the trail, the refugee and the executive breathe the same air and face the same incline. Community forms naturally when people explore naturally. The stewardship of the natural world and the flourishing of human communities are not separate projects — they are the same project.
🫁 Nature heals Before anything else — the body and mind need restoration. We have seen the corporate founder step onto a trail and feel, without warning, the weight of a decade lift. We have watched a refugee family discover something in the openness of the sky that felt like safety. Nature delivers what no program can manufacture.
🧭 Nature teaches A trail responds to effort, presence, and honesty — the same qualities every meaningful human journey requires. In nature, every person is returned to the same essential truth: we are small, we are capable, we belong to something vast and interconnected, and we did not need to earn our place in it.
♾️ Nature includes everyone A sunrise does not require you to reach a summit to witness it. A path through a forest is accessible at every pace, every ability, every stage of life. ITE's programs begin with this principle — the journey is defined by the traveler, not the terrain. Every horizon belongs to every person.
🔄 Nature is cyclic Seasons do not apologize for returning. The forest that burns regenerates. Winter is not a failure. ITE teaches that human growth follows the same pattern — every ending is a new beginning, every return to base is the cycle working exactly as it should.
The rope team
The wall belongs to everyone.
🌍
The refugee & immigrant family
Crossed borders and oceans. Demonstrated courage most people will never be called upon to show. Carries grit, wisdom, and potential that has never been given the right conditions to fully express itself.
🧒
The teenager who has been overlooked
Underfunded for their entire educational life. Never told clearly and without condition that they have what it takes. ITE says it clearly: they do.
🎖️
The veteran who came home
Gave everything. Returned to a world that did not quite know what to do with them. Knows the wall from a different kind of terrain. Belongs here.
👩👧
The single parent, two cultures
Holding a family together across languages and continents. Pouring from a cup that has needed refilling for longer than anyone has noticed. ITE refills it.
🏢
The founder who hit the wall
Built something real. Reached what looked like the summit. Found it hollow. ITE was born from exactly this moment — and knows this terrain better than most.
♿
Every person, every ability
ITE uses "horizon" not "summit" because a horizon belongs to every human being regardless of physical ability. Every program asks: how do we make this accessible to every person who wants to come?
ITE does not come to any community to give them strength. The strength is already there. We come to create the conditions — the access, the education, the resources, the community, the belief — that allow what is already present to flourish.
In mountaineering, the rope team is the principle that holds everything together. Climbers are linked by a shared
line. If one slips, the others hold. If one finds the route, they mark it for the rest. The strongest carry more weight on the hard days. The fastest slow down to stay with the group. And the summit, when it is reached, is reachedtogether.
"Not a charity delivering services to passive recipients. A rope team of active climbers at different points on the same trail - each one with something to give, each one with something still to learn."
How we grow
The spiral
that never stops.
Growth at ITE is not a straight line from broken to healed, from lost to found. It is a spiral - a continuous, upward cycle that happens simultaneously, in every person, at every point on the trail.
You learn something and it changes how you grow. You grow and it deepens how you lead. You lead and you are transformed. And the transformation opens you to a richer, deeper level of learning than was available before. The cycle does not end. It ascends. Every clearing becomes the basecamp for the next climb. Every horizon, once reached, opens onto a wider one.
"Not a program with a start and an end — a living, breathing, continuous ascent. One that every person in our community is on, at their own pace, in their own landscape, toward their own unique horizon."
01
Learn
Begin with wonder · The forest floor
Before anyone can grow, they must first be given permission to discover. ITE creates that permission — in outdoor education, Nature Rx, scholarships, and cultural orientation. The invitation: come as you are. Bring your questions. The trail begins here, and you do not need to have it figured out to start walking.
"The path begins the moment you arrive. You are already on it."
Grow
Build with intention · The incline
Growth is physical, professional, financial, and profoundly personal. Fitness that rebuilds not just strength but the sense that your body is still yours. Skills that turn existing ability into marketable confidence. Microfinance that transforms a vision into a livelihood. Medical care for a body that has been carrying too much for too long. Every investment is designed to multiply.
"When one person grows, the people around them grow too."
02
Lead
Turn around and reach back · The canopy
Leadership at ITE is not a title. It is a decision — to look around, see who is still finding the trail, and turn around to hold out a hand. We develop leaders at every level: the young person finding their voice for the first time, the immigrant entrepreneur building their first team, the community elder who becomes the anchor for everyone arriving after them.
"The greatest explorer is the one who shows others the trail."
03
Transform
Become the guide · The new horizon
Transformation is ITE's deepest measure of success — not programs completed, but the moment a person moves from needing a guide to being one. And here is the beautiful truth: transformation sends you back to the beginning of the spiral. The person transformed discovers, from that new vantage point, new things worth learning. The cycle ascends. It never ends
"Every horizon reached opens onto a wider one."
04
🌅
Why we say "horizon" — not "summit"
At ITE, we use the horizon as our central image because a horizon belongs to every human being, at every ability level, in every circumstance. You do not need to be able to climb a mountain to have a horizon. Every person — including those with disabilities, mobility challenges, chronic illness, or any condition that makes summit language feel exclusionary — has a horizon that is uniquely, completely theirs. The journey is defined by you, not by the terrain. ITE's programs, events, and community are designed to meet every explorer exactly where they are.
What drives us
Mission. Vision.
Values.
🌿
Our Mission
Explore. Inspire. Transform.
We invest in people’s potential through education, wellness, and leadership. By supporting scholarships, fitness, and skill-building, we help people of all ages grow, lead, and give back to their communities. Together with our partners, we create lasting impact and shared success.
🌅
Our Vision
A horizon for every person.
To inspire change in people's lives and livelihoods through a deeper connection with the natural world. A world where belonging is the foundation — not the reward. Where grit and potential present in every community are met with the conditions needed to flourish. Where every person who has been told the horizon is not theirs to reach discovers that it always was.
🙏
Our Values
Decency. Humbleness. Understanding.
We lead with basic human decency — every person on every trail deserves dignity. We practice humbleness — the most experienced guides remain students of the mountain. We cultivate understanding — every person you meet is navigating terrain you cannot fully see. The only appropriate response is to walk alongside them with respect.
Community voices
What explorers
have said
"That beautiful nature exploration brought positive momentum with many happy hikers — it literally made me feel deeply connected to the outdoor world. The power of nature has a profound influence that inspires human life in countless ways. Nature has a unique ability to heal and rejuvenate. The most powerful inspiration I experienced was the real essence of natural beauty and the connections with the communities enhancing the true sense of belonging."
A Bhutanese American Community Leader · ITE Explorer
“
"ITE's work to promote health and wellness in our community is a significant step towards bridging the health disparities in communities with fewer resources. Together, we can build stronger resources to improve the health and wellness of our community members."
Asian Refugees United (ARU) · Partner Organization
“
"At 71, Aama reminds us that nature carries memory and home — no matter where we are."
ITE Community Documentary · Pennsylvania
“
"That beautiful Saturday morning hike at Dehart Dam Loop was nothing short of magical. The breathtaking scenery, the fresh air, and the sounds of nature created an atmosphere of peace and connection that I hadn't felt in a long time."
Arati C. · ITE Community Explorer
“
"There's something truly special about being out in nature, surrounded by towering trees and breathtaking views. Every step on the trail was a reminder of how beautiful our world is."
Laura Ghimire · ITE Explorer
“
Our promise
We rise
together.
One person hit a wall. They went looking. They found the mountain. They came home changed — and built a community around what they discovered, because the most natural response to a real breakthrough is to make sure others have access to it.
🌿
We believe belonging is the foundation of everything. Not a reward for those who have already arrived. The ground beneath the trail itself. Without it, no ascent is possible.
🧭
We believe nature is the most honest classroom we have. And that access to its healing, its teaching, and its belonging should not depend on your zip code, your income, or the country printed on your passport.
🤝
We believe the grit and potential present in every community simply needs the right conditions to flourish. ITE does not come to give communities strength. The strength is already there.
🔄
We believe growth is cyclic, not linear. Every summit becomes the basecamp for the next climb. Returning is not regression — it is the wisdom of the season. The cycle ascends. It never ends.
🙏
We believe in basic decency, humbleness, and understanding. Every person you meet is navigating terrain you cannot fully see. Walk beside them with respect.
✨
We believe the highest act of exploration is guiding someone else. Every horizon reached becomes someone else's starting point. The walk doesn't end when you arrive. It begins again when you turn back to show someone the way.
Not a program
A movement.
Not a service
A community.
Not a destination
A shared ascent.
"There is a place for you here.
There always has been.
Every horizon is a home."
— Inspired to Explore, Inc. · Learn. Grow. Lead. Transform.
Inspired to Explore Community Leaders
Prabin Pandey
Wilderness Program Manager,
Wilderness First Responder Certified
I'm passionate about outdoor adventures and discovering new places. With over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, I thrive in roles that bring people of all ages together. I’m committed to creating meaningful connections and making a positive impact in the communities I serve.
Sayuj Shakya
Program Operations & Quality Manager, Swimming coach,
Wilderness First Responder Certified
I'm a passionate outdoor enthusiast and certified Wilderness First Responder, driven by a deep love for nature and a commitment to safety and service. From my early walks through the Kathmandu Valley to leading outdoor initiatives today, my connection to the outdoors has shaped who I am and how I support others.