CEO DATELINE - Outdoor association uses crowdfunding to send kids to national parks
CEO DATELINE - Outdoor association uses crowdfunding to send kids to national parks
- January 22, 2016 |
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Walt Williams
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The Outdoor Industry Association, along with its foundation, has turned to a popular crowdfunding site to help needy schools pay for trips to national parks.
The Parks 4 Kids campaign kicked off earlier this month with a $250,000 donation from OIA and the Outdoor Foundation. The goal is to raise money to help schools send fourth-grade students to a national park or to one of 2,000 federally managed lands and waterways nationwide.
The association is raising the money through Crowdwise, an online crowdfunding site for charities. Internet users can donate money to any of dozens of schools looking for help.
"This program is unique because it recognizes that our industry is comprised of brands and retailers, large and small, who have varying resources but are united by wanting to support kids, families and schools in their local communities and in doing so increase participation in outdoor activities," OIA Executive Director Amy Roberts told National Parks Traveler. http://bit.ly/1WBydSz
The National Park Service turns 100 this year, and to coincide with the anniversary the federal government is encouraging every fourth grader in the nation to visit a national park. OIA said it typically costs $10 per student to visit a park or other federal public lands, but many financially strapped schools are unable to cover the expense.
Projects currently seeking funding include a field trip to Piscataway National Park in Maryland by Beacon Heights Elementary in Riverdale Park, Md., where 84 percent of the student qualify for the free-and-reduced lunch program. Two Washington, D.C., schools with a high proportion of low-income students—E.W. Stokes Elementary and Francis Stevens Elementary—are asking for money.
The campaign website is www.crowdrise.com/everykidinapark
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