Outdoor Foundation support will allow the Coalition to increase the impact of outdoor organizations in King County and address disparities in who has access to parks, trails, and waterways in the Pacific Northwest.
The King County Play Equity Coalition was selected to support Seattle-King County as one of four new regions to be added to the Thrive Outside Communities project, supported by the Outdoor Foundation. King County is joining Chicago, Detroit, and Washington, D. C. as new communities in the already 12-city cohort.
The Thrive Outside Initiative “awards multi-year, capacity-building grants to diverse communities to build and strengthen networks that provide children and families with repeat and reinforcing experiences in the outdoors.”
Read the full announcement here!
How does this impact the work of the Coalition?
From the beginning of the Coalition, members and leadership were clear they wanted to address disparities in all realms of youth physical activity and play access: free play, school-based activities, organized sport, and outdoor recreation. The outdoor education and recreation community is strong in King County, and leaders in that field have been vital to the start-up and growth of this Coalition.
We are excited to be able to grow the Coalition’s impact and reach into the outdoor recreation community through this project while staying focused on our mission to challenge and change systems and our goal to shift power to BIPOC-led organizations. This includes launching an outdoor recreation-focused action team to bring together organizations focused on equitable outdoor programming to take collective action toward our shared goals.
How can my organization get involved?
Starting immediately, we’re recruiting additional outdoor recreation and education organizations to join us!