33 Grants Awarded Will Get Nearly 22,00 Kids Outside

TIOGA, PA, (10 April 2023) – Today, the National Park Trust announced the 2023 round of grantees for the Every Kid Outdoors Small Grants Program. In partnership with the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Trust developed the Every Kid Outdoors grant to support schools and organizations focused on connecting elementary school-aged youth to public parks, lands, and waters.

For over a decade, National Park Trust has been a leader in youth outdoor programming and has been actively addressing the lack of transportation to outdoor spaces – one of the most significant barriers to kids getting outside and experiencing nature. This grant supports the Every Kid Outdoors program, a federal youth initiative designed to provide every 4th grader in the United States the opportunity to visit public lands and waters for free with their families. The great outdoors is an excellent classroom, and the Park Trust and the USDA Forest Service are partnering to provide the experiences that will help kids establish lifelong connections with nature and become the next generation of park stewards.

The Friends of Tioga, Hammond & Cowanesque Lakes received a $1500.00 grant to support their “Every Kid Outdoors: Tioga County 4^th Graders” Program.

The Friends of Tioga, Hammond & Cowanesque Lakes will conduct two Youth Education Day in May 2022 at the Ives Run Recreational Center, run by the United States Army Corp of Engineers. The program is open to all 4^th Grades in Tioga County. The Friends will reimburse the transportation cost to the schools and conduct, with the help of other local groups and individuals, 8 outdoor educational programs. The programs are expected to support approximately 350 4^th Graders from 7 Elementary Schools in Tioga County Pennsylvania. 

The Friends of Tioga, Hammond & Cowanesque Lakes are happy support this effort. We feel that the youth are our future and programs like these will ensure they will become the stewards of our environment for generations to come. OUR MOTTO is: No Child Left Inside!

This opportunity was made available to 501(c)3 non–profit organizations and schools from all over the United States looking for resources and funding to connect their community’s elementary school-aged kids with local public lands and waters. The Park Trust and USDA Forest Service awarded 28 grants, up to $5,000 each, to qualified applicants – totaling more than $110,000.

ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, National Park Trust’s mission is to preserve parks today and create park stewards for tomorrow. Since 1983, the Park Trust has acquired many of the missing pieces of our national parks, benefiting 51 national park sites. Our national youth education and family initiatives, including our Buddy Bison Programs and National Kids to Parks Day, serve 300 Title I schools annually and cultivate future park stewards. We believe that our public parks, lands, and waters should be cared for, enjoyed by, and preserved by all for current and future generations. Find out more at parktrust.org.