Outdoor Youth Connections, a group that helps underserved youth get outdoors, has a fundraising gala at 6 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Edmonds Yacht Club.
There will be dinner, drinks and dancing with a live band. There will also be a raffle and a live and silent auction.
Money raised at the event will support OYC’s programs, such as funding salmon habitat studies for classrooms and sending kids to the North Cascades.
Dennis Miller, of the OYC board of directors, says it’s powerful to see kids really spend time in nature for the first time.
“On an intellectual level, I know that kids are more and more confined to urban environments and a lot of kids are stuck in the city their whole life. I think it’s good for them, good for everyone, if they get outdoors and see the beautiful Northwest,” he said. “On a more emotional level, I’ve had the joy to go on a number of outings with these kids and it’s … almost a religious renewal experience to see them change. … At the end of a few days you can really see the change.”
Outdoor Youth Connections was started in 2007 after the death of Larry Ingalls, a member of the Mountaineers and a well-loved and respected leader. Ingalls was striving to get more of a youth program in the Mountaineers. Outdoor Youth Connections was formed in his memory.
Miller says that OYC helps put together the pieces to get kids in the wild. They help connect the kids, adult leaders and the programs, and then they offer some funding to make it all more affordable.
You can get more information and buy tickets, $75, at www.myoyc.org.
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