On the heels of a long weekend of spending, Giving Tuesday has become a charitable foil to the post-Thanksgiving commercialism. Nonprofits of all stripes capitalize on the awareness that comes along with what has become an internet phenomenon. Initiatives backed with promotions, matching donations, and particular goals seek to bolster funding.
Nonprofit organizations within the outdoors community are no exception.
If you are interested in supporting a program that protects trout or natural resources, great. But you might also want to consider investing in an organization that is raising up the next generation to protect trout or natural resources.
Here are four great fly fishing and outdoors-related nonprofits that are helping kids get outside and learn to steward the world around them:
Click on the photo or the heading to learn more about each program.
Commitment is something that sets Cast Hope apart. Kids don’t just have a day or week where they get to fish or learn about fishing. They get to enter into a relationship and a world that will run adjacent to everything else they have going on in life. Fishing gets to be a part of who they are and what they do. Cast Hope’s guides and volunteers meet with kids multiple times to help them learn how to fish, learn how to think about the resources, and learn how to think about themselves.
The experience of hiking, sailing, and fishing are catalysts that open eyes and expand possibilities for young people. “With fishing, in particular, we see kids anticipating and focusing on possibilities. They really get into it: ‘there is a chance I can catch a fish’ or ‘there is a chance I can catch a big fish!’ If you take a child that has been surrounded by concrete their whole life and let them explore a waterway, you’ll see joy and excitement and a little bit of nervousness – but it is transformative.”
“Connection, education, conservation, and exploration.” That is the quick explanation given by Fish For Change’s Operations Director, Heather Harkavy, when asked what the program is all about. But there is a lot more to this fly fishing initiative created for high school and college students. “Basically, we’re all about introducing young anglers to others around the world; helping them experience other environments and cultures. And, in my opinion, it is awesome.”
“People know the benefits of fly fishing for them. So immediately they understand how it will work. But people are nervous if they haven’t worked with foster kids before. I myself had to strip the foster label away and realize they’re just kids who want that opportunity to connect. Fly fishing is a tool for helping them on this difficult path.” Every trip is an opportunity to connect. Every cast is a tool for helping children facing truly difficult circumstances.
Whether you choose to give during the “Giving Tuesday season” or not, know that programs like these depend on the generosity of concerned people like you and me. More than that, the young people they serve depend on others giving of themselves.