Grants to Help Families Pay for Youth Recreation Programs
Gaining access to recreational opportunities for youth can be a stress on families due to financial requirements for participation. Many scholarship and grant programs exist in communities to help families with these needs. Local parks and recreation organizations offer class fee reductions and camp program fee waivers while national parks and forests offer special passes and fee reductions for select groups as well.
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The YMCA and Local Parks Grants
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Local parks departments usually have grants to help families access their programs.
in the park image by Judy Ben Joud from Fotolia.com
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) offers grants to low-income families for sports classes, summer and after-school camps and youth recreation opportunities. Nearly every branch of the YMCA offers some sort of grant program to help increase the accessibility of recreation to youth in the community. Ask your local YMCA branch manager about scholarship programs.
Local Parks and Recreation Departments usually have scholarship and grant programs to make sports and recreation available to children and teens. Inquire about financial aid for programs offered by your parks department by calling the main office and asking how you can apply for program scholarships. In addition to local parks departments, many state parks also offer grants and special passes for certain segments of the population. Washington State, for example, offers free camping in its state parks for Washington resident foster families. They also offer a disability camping permit which reduces fees by 50 percent at all state campgrounds. The U.S. Forest Service offers a free lifetime Interagency Access Pass to disabled visitors, which allows them to enter all national parks and forests, with up to three passengers (free to children under 15) without standard entry fees, and camping fees may be reduced up to 50 percent, depending on the site. It is best to call your local parks, forests and recreation areas to inquire about grants they offer to help families with recreation costs. Canada's Parks and Recreation Association also has a national policy to safeguard access to recreation for low-income families and youth in Canada.
Grant Programs for Special Groups
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There are special grants for girls' recreation programs.
beach girls image by Mitchell Knapton from Fotolia.com
Often there is funding for special groups to participate in recreation opportunities. Snow Riders of the American Indian Nations is an organization which funds the lessons and equipment for American Indian children to help them reclaim their heritage as skiers. Snow Riders created the Native American Olympic Team Foundation to help support Snow Riders with their dream to create national Olympic skiers through their program.
Coastal Studies for Girls offers scholarships to low-income girls for a 16-week science and leadership school, which includes room and board at its farm in Maine. GirlVentures is a San Francisco-based outdoor adventure group for adolescent girls. They offer scholarships to enable low-income girls to participate as well.
Christian Camp Scholarships for Families
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Several Christian camps offer grants to host families at their retreats.
camp fire image by Shannon Workman from Fotolia.com
Several Christian organizations offer camp retreats for families and youth. Camp Magruder is a Christian camp on the Oregon Coast which offers four-day summer retreats for families living in low-income housing. It sponsors 50 families a year to enjoy its camp, with a range of activities offered such as archery, swimming, canoeing, kayaking and donkey riding. The grants include transportation to the camp, meals, lodging, supplies and insurance for the families during their stays. Another Christian camp offering youth grants is Camp Summit in Illinois. Since 1936, its Camp Friendliness program has offered recreation, Bible study, food and program participation to low-income families.
Camp Magruder
17450 Old Pacific Hwy.
Rockaway Beach, OR 97136
503-355-2310
Camp Summit
3321 57th Ave.
New Windsor, IL 61465
309-464-5656
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- Photo Credit boy squatting with football image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com in the park image by Judy Ben Joud from Fotolia.com beach girls image by Mitchell Knapton from Fotolia.com camp fire image by Shannon Workman from Fotolia.com
