Featured Outdoor Diversity Organization: Youth Opportunities Program
A previous blog post highlighted the disproportionate statistics between outdoor spaces and population demographics. As outdoor recreationists, we continue to recognize this problem.
We hope to continue our education journey with our readers and do our best to help bridge these gaps between (underrepresented) minority communities and nature.
One of the ways we can create change within the outdoor industry is to support organizations who are already at the forefront of connecting communities of color to the outdoors.
So during the month of November, The National Parks Experience, along with several other outdoor industry and national park-related content creators, is featuring the Youth Opportunities Program as part of our monthly community effort to showcase organizations that work to create more inclusive outdoor spaces.
About The Youth Opportunities Program
Based in New England, The Youth Opportunities Program, a social justice program run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, provides outdoor education and professional development with the aim to create equal access to the outdoors.
In addition to training leaders, the program partners with schools and organizations in communities facing barriers to recreation in outdoor spaces.
Sparked by the Civil Rights movement—it was founded in 1968—the Youth Opportunities Program currently trains about 400 educators per year. This allows tens of thousands of young people to experience the outdoors across New England and the greater New York City areas.
We encourage you to learn about this program and consider supporting them by donating to their cause or sharing their content and work on social media.
History
During the civil rights movement in 1968, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) created the Youth Opportunities Program (YOP) in response to growing concern of how racial and social injustice was impacting Boston’s young population.
In collaboration with local organizations, the AMC and YOP began a “train-the-trainer” model in order to allow local organizations to have the skills, support and resources to get their own youth out into nature.
In the summer of 1968, the first YOP outing occurred in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and since then, the YOP has been providing training and equipment to youth leaders in order to make the outdoors more accessible.
Through these outdoor experiences, youth populations are able to gain the skills and knowledge both on and off the trails. Starting with dozens of youth groups served in 1968, the YOP now serves over 37,000 youth and trains hundreds of workers per year.
Support and Donate
Please consider supporting this organization directly. Donations can be made in the following way:
Donate
Consider making a donation to support the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Youth Opportunities Program.
Follow the Youth Opportunities Program
Website: https://www.outdoors.org/youth-programs/youth-opportunities-program
You Can Help Bridge the Race Gap in the Outdoor Industry
An overview of organizations we have supported can be found here. This document contains information about what these organizations are doing and how you can donate to them directly.
We also set up a submission form you can use if you know an organization that’s working to make the outdoors more diverse and inclusive. If you want to see them supported, please submit via this form.