xciting news from grand canyon youth (gcy). Things are really starting to move at gcy. We have five trips going out this spring. Thanks to generous grants, outfitter, business and community support, school participation and hard-working volunteers, we are providing the opportunity for 80 to 100 kids to experience a river trip! That's what it's about—getting the next generation on the river and in the canyons.
Seventh and Eighth graders from Mount Elden Middle School are going on a three and a half-day San Juan trip with Arizona Raft Adventures and Wild River Expeditions. Flagstaff Middle School kids are doing a five-day Deso-Gray trip through Colorado River and Trail Expeditions. Teenagers from Coconino High are going on a three-day, geology focused San Juan trip with Adventure Discovery. A group of sixteen students from Flagstaff and Salt Lake City high schools will do a fourteen-day Grand Canyon trip run through Tour West. The outfitters have been wonderful with providing us screaming deals on trip prices.
The kids have worked hard to go on these trips. They are paying half the trip cost with money they've earned through jobs and fundraisers. They have participated in community service projects. They have researched and will present an educational project on the river to fellow students and to the community after the trip. On the river, they'll do everything from the groover to cooking and learning to run their own boats.
It has been a huge year for gcy. We've established a Board of Directors and By-laws and are on our way to having our own 501(c)(3) tax-deductible, non-profit status. We are indebted to gcrg for letting us use their tax-deductible status the last few years! We have received over $20,000 in grants this year from Flagstaff Community Foundation, Grand Canyon Conservation Fund, Arizona Advisory Council for Environmental Education, as well as many generous individuals and businesses.
Our Mission is to provide youth an experiential education along the rivers and in the canyons of the Colorado Plateau in an effort to promote environmental awareness, community involvement, personal growth and teamwork among people of diverse backgrounds. The basics of the program are that the kids earn half the cost of their trip, we provide the other half. The kids do community service, educational projects and full participation on the river.
How can you help? Help us spread the word about this great organization! Tell your passengers about Grand Canyon Youth. We have our successful “Adopt-a-Youth” program in place where people can sponsor a youth to provide them this unique opportunity. This is a great place for your passengers to give money to help provide scholarships for kids who need financial aid. A business owner can join our “Business Sponsor” program where the money they donate goes to kids who can either work for them or do extra community service in exchange for the aid. We're looking forward to getting even more trips out in 2001. The money we raise over the summer, in part, dictates how many trips we can do next year. We'll drop off brochures at the different companies that you can pass out. Do you know an innovative and enthusiastic teacher? Have them contact us. If you want to get involved on any level, give us a call at (520) 773-7921. (Our office is staffed by volunteers, mainly boaters during the summer, so please be patient—we will return your call when we're back from the river.)
Thanks again to gcrg for giving us a home and taking us under their wing! Thanks to everyone for your support and enthusiasm!

Tillie Klearman