Local Youth benefit from the Power of Partnerships by Anita Evans

(Left) A young TRY participant proudly displays the trout she caught ice fishing on Ward Lake during FOYAN's Winter Fun Festival. (Right) Local youth get a chance to play in the snow, create snow castles and colorful designs on the white palate.

Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN) believes that working together with other organizations means a greater ability to impact more youth in a focused and positive way. This and having loads of fun together spills over into amazing experiences for our local youth. If you were on the Grand Mesa on Monday February 17th at Ward or County Line ski trails, you were able to see our partnerships in action.
 
Over 110 youth from our Together for Resilient Youth (TRY) coalition played together in freshly fallen snow under bluebird skies while sledding, catching fish, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and making colorful snow art. Appetites fueled by these activities at 10,000 feet in elevation were quelled with scrumptious chili dogs and frothy hot chocolate.
 
Thanks to expert outdoorspeople from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Nature Connection, Colorado Canyons Association, Grand Mesa Nordic Council, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management,  Mesa County Youth Services, Colorado Mountain Club. the San Juan Mountain Association, and many locally talented volunteers, participating youth couldn’t have had more fun!
 
Outings like this take hours of planning and teamwork, and that’s what Friends of Youth and Nature excels at on a daily basis. The behind the scenes planning of scheduling events, organizing activities, providing gear, recruiting quality mentors to teach outdoor skills, working with providers and volunteers on gathering and transporting youth, ordering and preparing food for all, and so much more all takes time and careful planning. We feel strongly that if we provide the means for a fun filled exciting day for youth in the outdoors, they will not only want to continue to get outside but are emotionally bonded to each other and to nature in a way that nurtures these future stewards of our world.
 
We have many more outings scheduled for our local youth in 2025, and this is where you can help! Our TRY outings and scholarships for youth outdoor programs are funded through your generous donations. We are having our second annual “Bring on the Summer Outdoor Festival” on May 24th at Montrose Riverbottom Park. This is a gift to YOU, as well as a fundraising event. We use sponsorships to fund necessary costs at the event such as porta potties, licenses, fees, prizes, and a stage for the emcee and events at the festival. There will be 20-30 youth activity booths, as well as partner organization sign-ups for summer programming for your children. Did I say contests with prizes? We will have food trucks, music, and friendly competitions such as a ducky race, pie eating contest, face painting, bubble making, as well as basketball, corn hole, skateboarding, and disc golf competitions. Summer fun for all ages!
 
If you would like to be a sponsor to help raise more funds to connect our local youth to healthy outdoor programs, volunteer or organize a youth activity, please visit our website (below) for more information or to donate online. 
 
Thank you for all your support and save the date for our Bring on the Summer Outdoor Festival on May 24th, 2025 at Riverbottom Park in Montrose! We hope to see you there.