We are proud to announce the Franklin D. Roosevelt Hyde Park Foundation has procured funding for the National Park Foundation’s Open OutDoors for Kids program grant.
Building on children’s innate wonder about the natural world, the Open OutDoors for Kids program connects students to their national parks through field trips, classroom engagements, and educational activities.
The grant is being managed by Rick Jenkins, program manager for the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, Division of Interpretation and Education, and education technician Alexie Palmer.
A portion of the grant is used for transportation to support visits from several college groups to the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site and the FDR Library and Museum. The goal is to reach schools within a 50-mile radius of the sites, ensuring they have the opportunity to participate in place-based education programs, particularly when transportation funding is not available through their own schools or institutions.
Working closely with the education staff at the FDR Library and Museum to develop and host field trip programs, they have been able to support visits from several college groups to the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site and the FDR Library and Museum. Recently, a bus was acquired to transport young Cornell students to and from Poughkeepsie station who were visiting the historic sites from the city.
Portions of the funding also go to support interns who will help lead and expand the education programs, develop marketing materials, purchase laptops and other technology for digital learning opportunities, and support teacher workshops hosted by NARA Education Specialist Jeffrey Urbin.
In July, recent Vassar graduate Sarah Shepherd was hired as an intern for the summer and fall season, giving her valuable professional experience and the opportunity to learn about partnerships between agencies while developing her own interpretive and educational skills working with diverse audiences.
