"TEENS TO TRAILS" GRANTS for HIGH SCHOOL OUTING CLUBS AVAILABLE for FIFTH YEAR!

T3 joins L.L.Bean & The Davis Conservation Foundation to get teens outdoors

Edgecomb, Maine - Teens To Trails or "T3" is pleased to announce a rare opportunity for Maine high school Outing Club programs to receive funding support through their "Grants-to-Clubs" program.  Since 2008, Teens To Trails has awarded over 50 small grants to Outing Clubs to help get teens active outdoors.  This year, with the generous support of L.L.Bean and The Davis Conservation Foundation, Teens To Trails will ensure that more teens have the opportunity to explore Maine's great outdoors.

The Grants-to-Clubs program is open to any high school Outing Club in Maine.  Complete online application guidelines are available on the Teens To Trails website at www.teenstotrails.org/grants-clubs-program. Applications are due by midnight December 1st.  Through the Grants-to-Clubs program, Outing Clubs will receive funds to help with costs such as transportation, outdoor gear, or safety & skills training for leaders.  Grants are awarded up to $500.



"High school Outing Clubs are the most effective way we have found for engaging teens in their natural world, making safe outdoor experiences accessible to every student in the State.  A growing body of research shows that unstructured time outdoors is critical to the health and well being of our young people," says Carol Leone, Founder of Teens To Trails. "Life was not meant to be a spectator sport!" Leone states.  "It is our goal to establish an Outing Club in every one of Maine's high schools and this Grants-to-Clubs program will help Outing Clubs get off the ground and become sustainable & customary school offerings."

Eleven Outing Clubs received assistance last year helping them to plan outdoor adventures throughout the school year.  View Flickr photos from these Outing Clubs.  The 2012 Grants-to-Clubs Program is made possible by a grant from The Davis Conservation Foundation and the generosity of L.L.Bean.  Teens To Trails encourages high schools to apply.  (T3 loves middle schools with outing clubs, but we are primarily an all-volunteer effort & we are focusing our limited resources on high schools right now.)

For information on the Grants-to-Clubs program, Teens To Trails and Outing Clubs, visit www.TeensToTrails.org.

About TEENS TO TRAILS:
Teens To Trails is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit dedicated to increasing the opportunities for Maine teens to experience the out-of-doors through a variety of programs that promote & support high school Outing Clubs. Our goal is to spread Outing Clubs across the State.