Monument Receives 2014 Ticket to Ride Grant from National Park Foundation

Date: August 20, 2014

Colorado National Monument Receives 2014 Ticket to Ride Grant from the National Park Foundation

Fruita, CO - Colorado National Monument is one of 65 national parks selected to receive a 2014 Ticket to Ride grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks. Through this grant, the monument will be able to provide bus transportation for over 2,000 students from local schools. 

Now in its third year, the Ticket to Ride program provides the much-needed funds to make national park field trips possible for schools across the country. 

"We know that one of the greatest barriers keeping America's youth from visiting their national parks is access to transportation," said Neil Mulholland, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. "Through our Ticket to Ride program, we eliminate that barrier and open up a world of experiential learning in our nation's largest classrooms - our national parks - and help inspire stewardship of these treasured places."

To reach a new underserved audience in the local community, the monument will offer transportation scholarships to over 30 Mesa County Valley School District 51 schools. These scholarships will allow over 2,000 local students to visit the monument and experience the amazing natural and cultural resources it protects during hands-on lessons that support classroom curriculum. Teachers interested in applying for transportation scholarships can visit the teacher page on the monument's website for more information. 

"Field rips are often the only chance many local students have to visit a unit of the national park system," said Superintendent Lisa Eckert. "We are so grateful to the National Park Foundation for providing transportation money for these valuable learning opportunities."

The 2014 Ticket to Ride grands were made possible, in large part, through the support of Bayer USA Foundation, Disney, and Subaru of America. 

For the full list of part grantees, and their projects, visit the Ticket to Ride page on the National Park Foundation website. 

For more information on the National Park Foundation and how to support and protect America's national parks, please visit www.nationalparks.org. For more information on the National Park Service, please visit www.nps.gov.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE  More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 401 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.