The North Face Awards Explore Fund Grant to Adventure Risk Challenge

The North Face has awarded an Explore Fund grant to Adventure Risk Challenge, a
year-round outdoor education program for underserved high school
students under the the auspices of UC Berkeley.

The Explore Fund’s mission is to inspire and enable the next generation of explorers by funding nonprofit organizations that are working to re-connect children with nature. By encouraging an active, healthy lifestyle and protection of natural landscapes, a stronger connection of youth to the outdoors can be nurtured.

Adventure Risk Challenge was selected from more than 900 applications submitted for the first of two grant cycles in 2012.

Since The North Face Explore Fund was initiated in 2010, The North Face has provided more than $1 million in grants to nonprofits all over the world working to connect youth to the outdoors, with more than three quarters of that going to programs in the United States. We are honored to be part of a national movement to inspire youth to explore the outdoors. Their exposure to and experience in the outdoors is fundamentally important for our communities, our society, and for the positive development of our young people, said Jennifer Gurecki, executive director of Adventure Risk Challenge, said.

Adventure Risk Challenge was founded in 2004 to improve literacy and life skills, expose youth to a range of natural environments and wilderness experiences, and inspire the confidence they need to envision and accomplish goals, succeed in high school, and become engaged, empowered citizens. ARC has linked wilderness with academics through rigorous expeditions and an English and environmental science curriculum linked to state standards for the past nine years. ARC has increased access to transformational outdoor opportunities for underserved youth across Northern and Central California, while also supporting them in attending college at a rate of 77 percent.

There can be so many barriers to getting kids outdoors, whether it be a disability, health resources or simply a lack of access. A large percentage of the grants went toward funding organizations that are addressing these issues by providing access and education, said Ann Krcik, director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. We believe that if you can get kids to love the outdoors, not only will they develop skills that will help them throughout life, but they will grow up to care about their natural world, protecting and conserving the wild places they explore.

To learn more about Adventure Risk Challenge visit www.arcprogram.org. For more information about The North Face Explore Fund, please visit www.explorefund.org.