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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeCommunityNational ParkProject Promise, NPS Launch ‘Every Kid in a Park’ Program

Project Promise, NPS Launch ‘Every Kid in a Park’ Program

Ranger Benito Vegas talks to kids at Visitor Center

Project Promise is continuing its partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) to give local students the opportunity to visit and learn about Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve.
On Monday, they rolled out the “Every Kid in a Park” program, which focuses on getting fourth graders to visit the park. The program gives these students and those accompanying them the opportunity to learn about Salt River’s incredible history.
Project Promise, along with NPS, was selected to receive a 2016 field trip grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF), the official charity of America’s national parks, to support “Every Kid in a Park” at Salt River Bay. The grant is part of the foundation’s Open Out Doors for Kids program.
It’s the second year in a row that Project Promise has managed the NPF grant to support hundreds of local students’ visits to Salt River. Since the 2014 -2015 school year, Project Promise in collaboration with NPS, have hosted more than 1,000 public school sixth graders under the program, formerly called the “Ticket to Ride” program.
“These grants are planting the seeds for lifelong relationships with national parks and their programs,” said Will Shafroth, president of NPF. “By providing access to transformative experiences like listening to the sound of birds chirping, walking the halls of a school that tell a civil rights story, looking up at a dark night sky, or pitching a tent with a friend for the first time, these children are forever impacted. We appreciate the power of national parks and, through our support, the National Park Foundation hopes to share them with as many kids as possible.”
Every Kid in a Park was part of President Obama’s commitment to protect the nation’s unique outdoor spaces and ensure that every American has a chance to visit and enjoy them. The program, now entering its second year, is a call to action for children to experience America’s spectacular outdoors, rich history and culture.
The program is an administration-wide effort between the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
For more information about Every Kid in a Park or other Project Promise programs, contact Resa O’Reilly at 513-0446. Project Promise is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth on St. Croix by providing empowerment initiatives, cultural programs and family services.
To learn more, visit the Web site at www.projectpromisevi.com.

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