Announcing our Fall 2020 Charitable Grant Fund Awardees
Carolyn Lawrence
In a typical non-pandemic year, OGE hosts two cycles of our Charitable Grant Fund, the mission of which is to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities in Vermont communities by partnering with organizations that focus on land conservation, land access, trail development, and outdoor educational programming. We believe access to and conservation of our natural landscapes is critical to the health of Vermont’s communities, many of which remain underserved and underfunded by traditional state services and educational entities. Our Charitable Grant Fund looks to provide resources to nonprofits aligned with our own vision for better outdoor access, inclusivity, and education. When COVID-19 made its way to Vermont, we made the difficult decision to forego the Spring 2020 grant cycle, usually held in April. To address this, we chose to hold the Fall cycle one month early in hopes that organizations in need of funding for warmer weather projects would be able to receive it before the snow starts flying. On top of the global pandemic, we are also living and learning through a time of civil unrest and a fight for equal rights among BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized communities. The outdoor industry has a long way to go to reach equality for these groups, OGE included. To help make the outdoors more inclusive and accessible, we committed a minimum of $4,000 of available grant funds to projects that support DEI in our local communities. In light of all this, we are excited to announce the awardees of the Fall 2020 cycle of the Charitable Grant Fund!
Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center
The Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center will use their grant for the purchase of snowshoes for their outdoor learning programs. This will ensure children can still enjoy the outdoors, even in winter.
Camels Hump Nordic Ski Area
The grant awarded to Camel's Hump Nordic Ski Area will support the development of a new connector trail from their parking area to their higher elevation trails. By creating access to higher elevation trails, folks will be able to enjoy nordic skiing earlier in the season without the crutch of snowmaking.
Catamount Trail Association
The grant awarded to the Catamount Trail Association will support the funding of their flagship youth program, Ski Cubs. This program enables New American children to enjoy nordic skiing in the winter.
Green Mountain Conservancy
The Green Mountain Conservancy will use their grant for the establishment of a larger parking area and trail improvements at the Deer Run Nature Preserve. Increased parking will allow for more members of the public and students to enjoy the trails and natural area.
Stowe Land Trust
The Grant Fund will support the construction of a dock and boat launch on Joe's Pond in Morristown. This Stowe Land Trust project will provide additional recreation opportunities to a lower-income area.
Waterbury Area Trail Alliance
The Waterbury Area Trail Alliance has been awarded a grant to fund the replacement of two bridges at Perry Hill. The new bridges will be wide enough to accommodate ADA cycles and four-wheeler rescue vehicles.
Winooski Valley Parks District
The Grant Fund will support Winooski Valley Parks District's construction of a new bridge at the Ethan Allen Homestead trail network. This project will increase accessibility to the park for farmers, community gardeners, students, and the public for hyper-local enjoyment of the outdoors. Thank you to all who applied, and, most importantly, a huge thank you to all of the OGE consignment customers whose generous donations make the grant fund possible. Thanks to you we have funded over $81,000 in the 7 years of the grant’s existence! If you or someone you know is part of a Vermont nonprofit that supports outdoor recreation, education, land access, and/or inclusivity, please apply to our future grant cycles or email carolynl@gearx.com for more information.
