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Contact: Kekoa Rosehill, 610-783-1013 Contact: Kaitlen Langerharns, 610-783-5394 Contact: Alanna Sobel, 202-796-2538
King of Prussia, PA– Valley Forge National Historical Park is one of 186 federal sites selected to receive a 2015 field trip grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks. The Every Kid in a Park grant will help fund educational experiences for school children, and help pay for transportation to the park for schools in need of assistance. This grant, part of the Foundation's Open OutDoors for Kids program, supports the White House youth initiative Every Kid in a Park. "It is inspiring to see the National Park Foundation and many other partners step up to support our goal of getting fourth graders and their families into parks, public lands and waters that belong to all Americans," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. "These generous grants will ensure children across the country have an opportunity to experience the great outdoors in their community while developing a lifelong connection to our nation's land, water and wildlife." National Park Foundation grants have made it possible for more than 400,000 students (including this year's grantees) to visit national parks and other public lands and waters. "We want to help people everywhere, from all backgrounds, discover how national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other public lands and waters are relevant to their lives, and the best way to do that is to give people the opportunity to experience them first-hand," said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation. "Through our grants that provide funding for transportation and in-park learning, we are able to connect youth and their families to these special places and inspire people across the country to find their park which, in turn, can foster a lifelong connection to all that public lands and waters have to offer." Valley Forge National Historical Park will use the $9000 grant to pay for busing fourth graders from school districts to the park for a "Soldiers Life" program. Once at the park, the students drill as Continental Soldiers, explore the defensive earthworks and examine replica items in haversacks to learn about the soldiers who were here during the winter of 1777-1778. In addition to transportation, the grant will be used to update educational materials and develop pre-visit videos for classes to prepare for their field trip. The Friends of Valley Forge Park will administer the funds and distribute them to the schools to defray transportation costs. To learn more about the Friends of Valley Forge Park and application of the transportation fund, visit www.friendsofvalleyforge.org/transport.shtml For the full list of grantees, and their projects, visit www.nationalparks.org/everykidinapark. www.nps.gov About Valley Forge National Historical Park. Valley Forge was the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of George Washington's Continental Army. The park commemorates the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation and honors the ability of citizens to pull together and overcome adversity during extraordinary times. For more information about the park, please visit our website at www.nps.gov/vafo or call 610-783-1099. Follow Valley Forge on social media: Facebook.com/ValleyForgeNHP, Twitter @ValleyForgeNHP, and Instagram @ValleyForgePark and share your photos and experiences. About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 407 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov. About the National Park Foundation. The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org. ### |
Last updated: March 11, 2019