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      <PrimaryExemptPurposeTxt>SSP has been providing "Coming of age" programs or Rites of Passage groups for Boys and Girls rom 12 to 14 yrs of age since 1999. These programs are designed to help adolescents forge new connections to themselves their families communities and the natural world. Stepping Stones Project has been a mentoring program for middle school youth since 2001 but took an operational pause due to COVID impacts on our marketing program to schools in 2020 2021. We did not form new middle school mentoring groups in 2022 while the Board of Directors took time to consider whether to dissolve the organization or to transition the organization to a new Board of Directors. A new Board of Directors has assumed responsibility for Stepping Stones Project effective January 1 2023 and will determine the next steps for the organization</PrimaryExemptPurposeTxt>
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