Meeting the Needs of Parks Through Corporate Support
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The National Park Foundation (NPF) depends on corporate partners to enhance and expand NPF’s efforts to steward our national resources, provide meaningful visitor experiences, and engage younger generations. We gratefully acknowledge the corporations whose contributions help make NPF’s work possible.
Here are a few examples of programs and projects corporate partners helped support in our national parks in 2021:
NPF awarded 32 grants to national parks through Open OutDoors for Kids Hybrid Learning, an extension of the Open OutDoors for Kids (OOK) program, which creates pathways for kids to enjoy, understand, and connect with nature and cultural heritage in meaningful ways through outdoor activities and experiential learning. While OOK has historically focused on in-park programming, the hybrid learning grants recognized the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and supported parks along a spectrum of capabilities, from those who were brand new to distance learning to those seeking to scale-up existing hybrid programming. Hybrid design and a holistic approach to distance learning, with a key focus on social and emotional learning are among the most critical aspects of the program. The tools and program design developed during the past year will continue beyond the pandemic.
Since 2018, NPF has invested more than $11 million to support more than 130 service corps crews, helping to bring people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities together to accomplish critical maintenance projects in national parks. As of spring 2021, 59,858 hours of work had been completed by over 300 service corps members for the restoration, repair, and maintenance of areas of top importance and critical need at national park sites, including restoration of over 900 acres of natural habitat, removal of more than 40,000 pounds of trash and litter, and the planting of over 30,000 trees and plants.
The National Park Foundation and our corporate partners are also helping to make these national treasures more resilient and sustainable for the benefit of parks and people. This past year, NPF provided funding for the installation of more than 40 water bottle refill stations in parks across the country, renewable and alternative energy projects to enhance infrastructure resiliency, as well as recycling and waste reduction efforts to improve sustainability within our national parks.
Through critical wetland restoration efforts, such as providing funding for the restoration of approximately 500 acres of wetland at Everglades National Park in Florida, NPF and our corporate partners are supporting the protection of some of the most biologically diverse landscapes in the country and helping to restore millions of gallons of water per year to the local environment.
More than 400 national parks in the National Park System depend upon the commitment and generosity of private philanthropy to help keep them accessible, relevant, and beautiful. Generous gifts to the National Park Foundation help protect our national treasures, enhance the visitor experience, connect us with parks (even when we can’t always visit in person), and support innovative projects and programs that will take our national parks into the future.
We would like to acknowledge and thank the following partners for supporting our mission to protect and enhance America’s national parks for present and future generations:
Carhartt, EVOLVE Plant-Based Protein, GoGo squeeZ, Kinder Joy, L.L.Bean, Nature Valley, Publix, REI Co-op, Stericycle, Subaru of America, Sun Outdoors, The Coca-Cola Company, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Tupperware Brands, Union Pacific Railroad, Winnebago Industries