Youth Outdoor Legacy Fund announces 2010 grants to 11 organizations

With the determination of those committed to a life rich in outdoor experiences, the Youth Outdoor Legacy Foundation board has navigated through a tough economic journey. In 2010, YOLF will grant $145,000 to 11 organizations. The YOLF mission includes two important commitments: get more kids outdoors and assist the volunteers who help create meaningful moments with quality programs which ignite the kids’ own legacy of outdoor experience. Celebrating a fifth-year milestone in 2010, YOLF has made grants exceeding $737,000 to 47 youth outdoor groups across the U.S. in support of this mission.

“We have continued our investment in groups who have demonstrated results in the quality and extent of their outreach to kids in small and significant local efforts. It’s been a great pleasure for the advisory board to realize the positive impact our grants have enabled during the previous four years,” said Dennis Madsen, who began YOLF.

“Protecting and sharing the legacy of bringing kids outside has deepened a kinship between the outdoor industry and educators. Together with other leading national groups like Sierra Club’s “No Child Left Inside,” the REI Foundation, the Outdoor Foundation’s Outdoor Nation, NPCA, and The Continental Divide Trail Alliance, our shared goal, even in a tough economy, adds to our kids’ ability to learn and grow through many life challenges,” Madsen added.

These 11 organizations will receive 2010 program year grants:

1.Appalachian Mountain Club (Boston, Mass.) – $15,000 for its Youth Opportunities Program (YOP)
2.Bay Area Wilderness Training (Oakland, Calif.) – $15,000 to support its Wilderness Leadership Training Program
3.Chicago Inner City Outings (Chicago, Ill.) – $6,000 grant to provide outings to inner-city youth (with $1,000 earmarked for a matching grant campaign)
4.Colorado Mountain Club (Denver, Colo.) $10,000 to support its Youth Education Program with emphasis on play
5.Ebony Rose Ski Club (Portland, Ore.) – $14,000 grant to introduce African American high school students to skiing and snowboarding as part of the youth outreach activities conducted by ERSC.
6.Kids in Training (Cary, N.C.) – $15,000 grant to provide access to fitness and health programs
7.Metrocenter YMCA/YBOYS (Seattle, Wash.) – $12,500 grant for its YBOYS Outdoor Adventure Program
8.Outdoor Outreach (San Diego, Calif.) – $15,000 grant to continue its core programming work. Programs currently offered include: rock climbing, mountain biking, snowboarding, hiking/backpacking, river rafting, camping, surfing and marine science education.
9.Passages Northwest (Seattle, Wash.) – $15,000 to support two core programs: Girls Wilderness and Girls Rock
10.Rocking the Boat (New York, N.Y.) – $15,000 to support its traditional wooden boatbuilding and on-water education program
11.Youth Conservation Corps (Waukegan, Ill.) – $12,500 to enable youth outreach to youth living in the low-income communities of Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Beach and Mundelein, Ill., in north suburban Chicago (Lake County).

About YOLF
The Youth Outdoor Legacy Fund begins its fifth year of effective outreach to programs around the United States and is supported by generous private donors as well as these outdoor industry leaders: Patagonia, Merrell, REI, Columbia Sportswear, prAna, WL Gore, YoungOne Corporation, Black Diamond, KEEN Footwear, and the VF Corporation. The fund is being administered through the Seattle Foundation (www.seattlefoundation.org), a highly respected and professionally managed community foundation. Grant making is overseen by the Youth Outdoors Legacy Fund advisory board. YOLF was created in 2005 with the vision to engage young people in outdoor recreation while at the same time preparing them to be our future outdoor advocates. To learn more about the foundation and the programs it supports, visit the website at www.youthoutdoorslegacyfund.com. To add your support to YOLF, contact Dennis Madsen by e-mail at dmadsen@youthoutdoorslegacyfund.com or call 206.713.1821.
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