Next 100 Coalition Awards Get Outside Bus $48,000 for a Second Bus
A $48,000 National Forest Community Recreation Fund award paid for a second bus, so two community partners can now run programs on the same weekend.
MILWAUKEE, WI – September 9, 2024
The Next 100 Coalition has awarded Get Outside Bus a $48,000 grant through the National Forest Community Recreation Fund, a program it runs in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. The award will support a second Get Outside Bus. Get Outside Buses are mobile resource hubs that deliver both coaching and supplies to community leaders who want support for their outdoor programming.
Get Outside Bus works by partnering with community leaders to offer its buses, equipment and coaching. This resolves many barriers to outdoor access, while ensuring leaders can run trips that reflect their culture and communities. For three years that model ran on a single vehicle, which meant a hard ceiling: two partners who wanted the same weekend could not both have it, and the answer to one was always no.
“As a high school teacher in an urban environment serving students from low-income homes, it is difficult to overstate how intimidating it can be to try to plan, coordinate, fundraise, and navigate bureaucratic hoops of taking kids on a trip. The biggest game changer in my career as a formal educator was the partnership with [Get Outside Bus].”
— Monica DeGarmo, Detroit public school teacher
The second bus will remove that ceiling. Two community partners can now run programs on the same days, in different states, without either of them waiting a season for a turn. This bus will be based in one of our largest operating areas, Detroit.
The Next 100 Coalition funds work that improves access to recreation and builds lasting relationships between communities and public lands. In its award letter the Coalition described the grant as supporting work to “improve access to recreational opportunities and foster deeper connections with National Forests in the area area.”
The second bus will run its first program in May 2025.
“This generous support will finally allow us to start developing a regional strategy, where resource hubs can be supported and managed in and by the community they serve. We are so excited to be expanding the fleet!”
— Micah Leinbach, Executive Director
Media Contact
Micah Leinbach, Executive Director
micah@getoutsidebus.com
(414) 803-7080