East Oakland Boxing Association - Smartmoves

The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council Awards

$719,000 of Grants to 21 Organizations Dedicated to Getting Youth to the Outdoors

Six Catalyst grants, nine Impact grants, and six Initiative grants given to promote outdoor accessibility to youth, offer leadership opportunities and promote outdoor programs and activities to economically disadvantaged and underserved youth

San Mateo, Calif., Oct. 1, 2009 – An organization that connects healthy communities with parks, trails and agricultural lands; a project to engage urban high school students in watershed explorations in the Presidio’s Tennessee Hallow watershed; and a program that combines wilderness experience, adventure, reflection, and counseling to connect underserved youth with the natural world, are just a few of the projects that were awarded Catalyst, Impact, and Initiative Fund grants recently announced by the Stewardship Council.

“To get children outdoors, the Stewardship Council must fund outdoor recreation programs and more innovative approaches to engage underserved youth,” said Director of Youth Investment Program Steve Hagler. “It’s not just spending, it’s investing.”

• Six  organizations have been awarded a total of $44,000 in grants through the Catalyst Fund
• Nine organizations have been awarded a total of $250,000 in grants through the Impact Fund
• Six organizations have been awarded a total of $425,000 in grants through the Initiative Fund

Oakland

East Oakland Boxing Association (www.eoba.org) received $25,000 to support the Smartmoves Seeds of Change project that integrates outdoor experiential learning, academics, healthy lifestyle education, employment, and community service. Youth interns develop a meaningful awareness of the long-term connections between themselves, their families and community, their future possibilities, and the natural world around them.