Contact: Paula Piatt, Executive Director
570-886-1609, info@paoutdoorwriters.com
POWA Announces Youth Education Grant Recipients
SAYRE, PA – The Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association has announced the recipients of its 2023 Kermit Henning Youth Education Grants.
Fourteen organizations have received nearly $9,000 in funding for programs designed to get youth outdoors and to teach them about the valuable natural resources available throughout the state.
The education grants honor the memory of Kermit Henning, a life member and past president of POWA. Kermit’s dedication was a driving force behind POWA’s annual Youth Education Grant Fund awards, which have supported youth outdoor educational opportunities throughout the state. For more than 35 years, POWA has contributed to conservation camps, field days, fishing derbies, educational activities in schools and shooting programs among others.
POWA’s youth grant fund is funded primarily through the Annual Sportsmen’s Auction held at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg in February.
To date, POWA has raised and distributed over $444,000 to fund youth educational opportunities. Next year’s auction is set for Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg.
In addition to serving as the state’s only professional organization for writers, photographers, artists, broadcasters and bloggers dedicated to informing Pennsylvanians about the wise use and management of natural resources and outdoor recreation, POWA’s mission includes promotion of outdoor education and increasing awareness and appreciation of our natural resources and outdoor heritage.
To learn more about membership in POWA, visit our website: paoutdoorwriters.com, or contact Executive Director Paula Piatt at ppiatt@paoutdorwriters.com
Recipients of this year’s award include:
Blue Ridge Rifles Muzzleloader Club, Orwigsburg, Pa., $200, for the Youth Shoot at the club’s Memorial Day Rendezvous, allowing the club to waive all fees for youth.
Brandywine Red Clay Alliance, West Chester, Pa., $700, to support its youth programs, including scholarships for students ages 4-15 at its Summer Nature Camps.
Cameron County Outdoor Youth Activities, Emporium, Pa.; $500; to support youth programs such as the youth doe hunt and Fish Fest, which welcomes more than 125 youth each year.
Camp Compass, Allentown, Pa., $700, an organization dedicated to introducing urban middle and high school students to various outdoor activities and giving them the opportunity to experience and participate in the outdoor lifestyle.
Capital City Bassmasters, Landisburg, Pa., $700 for the annual Leukemia and Four Diamonds Fishing Derby for kids with leukemia, the Capital City Junior Bassmasters program and Casting for Kids events throughout central Pa.
Dauphin County Parks and Recreation, Harrisburg, Pa., $700 for support of Wildwood Park’s summer nature day camps, which provide environmental education to school children.
Friends of Schuylkill Parks and Recreation, Pine Grove, Pa., $700, for support of its activities on Youth Mentored Trout Day at Sweet Arrow Lake.
Jefferson County Youth Field Day, Sigel, Pa., $700, for its annual free event, giving youth the opportunity to have fun and develop new skills by participating in shooting sports, archery, canoeing and other skills stations.
Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, Millersburg, Pa., $500 to support its Geology Camp, which includes teaching students ways to learn and journal their findings and knowledge from observation and description to sketching, painting and writing.
Perry County Sportsmen's Association, Loysville, Pa., $700, for its Youth Field Day which hosts nearly 200 kids for demonstrations and hands-on activities.
Pennsylvania Wildlife Habitat Unlimited, DuBois, Pa., $700, for its annual Clearfield County Youth Field Day, which draws 150-200 kids ages 7-14 for a day of fishing, shooting, stream activities, boating and canoeing and outdoor safety.
Schuylkill County Sportsmen’s Association Youth Field Day, Pottsville, Pa., $700 for its many programs, including the annual Youth Field Day, which includes free activities for youth, including fishing, canoeing, trap shooting, archery, black-powder shooting, air rifle, forestry, and trapping.
Wildlife Leadership Academy, Lock Haven, Pa., $700; for tuition scholarships to its weeklong summer field schools for high school students. The schools focus on single species, but are used as a springboard to explore ecological concepts and management issues.
York Area Sportsmen For Youth, New Freedom, Pa., $700 for its Youth Field Day which attracts 200 kids from the area for a day of outdoor and conservation education.