On August 1st, FOUND editors Davy Rothbart and James Molenda will be taking 24 inner-city kids to Monongahela National Forest for a week of adventure, and we need your help to make it happen! Check out our IndieGoGo fundraising page, or read below!
In a few weeks, we’ll take 24 kids from inner-city Washington, D.C., Detroit, and New Orleans for a week-long camping adventure to Monongahela National Forest in the mountains of West Virginia. We encourage you to check out this short, beautiful, and moving video to learn more about the origins of the trip.
Last year, many of you helped us take 20 kids to Shenandoah National Park, and we all had an amazing time (check out the photos!). We had a ton of priceless memories, from finding hidden swimming holes to narrowly escaping skunks! This year, we’ll hike to the top of Seneca Rocks, visit a local farm, and be on the lookout for more secret swimming spots and new animals (like some of the black bears, bobcats, or flying squirrels that live in the area).
For most of these kids, this will be their first time in the woods– some have never even had the chance to explore beyond their own neighborhoods. The trip doesn’t have a specific agenda; rather, we just hope to give these kids a chance to experience something brand-new. They’ll see animals they didn’t know existed, swim in lakes and rivers, eat S’mores as we all tell ghost stories around a campfire, and explore the Great Outdoors. Please help us bring the trip to life!
Over at our IndieGoGo Fundraising page, we’re trying to raise $6,000 to cover the remaining trip expenses– van rentals and gas, primarily, plus food, camping gear, and other travel costs. $5 or $10, $20 or $200– your contribution in ANY amount, large or small, is hugely appreciated!! Aside from the knowledge that you’ve helped make the trip happen, you’ll receive awesome Thank You gifts from us (check out the Perks section at our IndieGoGo fundraising page). All contributions go directly to the kids to cover the cost of their trip– our staff members and trip leaders participate on an unpaid, volunteer basis. Even if you can’t contribute any money, you can always help us enormously by spreading the word: forwarding this email to a friend, posting about it on Facebook or Twitter, or passing along links to our fundraising page or trip website to help us get the word out. Every bit of help goes a long way!
Thank you, FOUND family!
Davy & James, with Maggie, Brandon, Barry, Ryan, Morgan, Kya, Sarah, Brande, Al, Theo, Maria, Chad, John, Chelsea, Peter, Andrew, Jason, and all of us at FOUND Magazine HQ!