Have Fun and a Drink for Slide Ranch!

Iron Horse has created a special Slide Ranch Chardonnay only available at ifOnly.com and at A16 restaurants in San Francisco and Rockridge.  Individual bottles as well as cases can be purchased at IfOnly.com, and A16 is offering the wine by the glass and bottle.  It's a great opportunity to purchase some amazing local Chardonnay while supporting our ranch.  

Slide Ranch Receives a Special Grant from the North Face 2016 Explore Fund

 

Slide Ranch is increasing access to National Parks for fourth graders in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Muir Beach, California – June 28, 2016 – Slide Ranch is one of the 45 non-profit organizations selected to receive a special grant from the North Face Explore Fund in observance of the centennial celebration of the National Park Service. Slide Ranch will use this generous donation to provide immersive outdoor nature experiences to fourth grade students. This project, which is part of the National Park Services’ Every Kid in a Park initiative, will provide fourth graders with the opportunity to camp, hike, and discover the outdoors on federal public lands within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) of the National Park Service. Thanks to this grant, Slide Ranch will be able to double the number of fourth graders it reaches through this program over the next year.

“Slide Ranch is dedicated to connecting kids to nature; so we are a big supporter of the goal of the Every Kind in a Park initiative,” says Marika Bergsund, Slide Ranch's Executive Director. “We’re pleased and excited to be able to use The North Face’s grant to play a larger role in this admirable effort to get more fourth graders out into nature.”

Slide Ranch plays a vital role immersing Bay Area children in nature.  Children’s outdoor playtime is at a historic low, despite the demonstrated importance of outside time for proper development.  Studies show that kids with more exposure to nature develop resilience, perform better in school, experience improved mental as well as physical health, and become better stewards of the earth. Slide Ranch plants 10,000 kids and families in nature every year, 70% of which are on scholarship. We partner also with more than 100 organizations in the Bay Area to deliver immersive nature experiences on 134 acres of California at its finest within the GGNRA.

“Encouraging people to experience and enjoy the outdoors has been our mission at The North Face since we were founded 50 years ago,” said Ann Krcik, senior director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. “We are proud to support these outstanding programs that expose participants to the beauty and joy of the outdoors. Through these Explore Fund grants, we are building a community of outdoor explorers and inspiring people to love and protect the places where we play.”

As part of its mission to start a global movement of outdoor exploration, The North Face introduced Explore Fund (www.explorefund.org) in 2010 and the program has since provided more than $2.2 million in grants to organizations committed to inspiring people to explore the outdoors and care for the environment.

About Slide Ranch

Slide Ranch was made possible by “rebels with a cause” who saved the land from development, plans called for a hotel and an amusement park, by purchasing it and donating it to the National Park Service for the enjoyment of the people of California and the nation. Since 1970 Slide Ranch has been stewarding this special land and operating a coastal teaching farm that welcomes children, youth and families from all walks of life.

To learn more about Slide Ranch visit www.slideranch.org.

About The North Face®

The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1966. Headquartered in Alameda, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snowsport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company's products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snowsport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers and major outdoor specialty retail chains.

Media contact:

Sarah Imber Safdar
On behalf of Slide Ranch
415-692-1392

Caren Bell               
On behalf of The North Face
510.748.2742
Caren_Bell@vfc.com

Let’s Plant More Kids in Nature!

**THANK YOU to everyone who has already donated to Slide Ranch this year and for all gifts received in response to our matching gift campaign - we couldn't do it without you!**

Which came first - the chicken or the egg?

That’s a question we get asked all the time by the children in our programs. “Well a chicken comes from an egg and an egg comes from a chicken…” we say “…and although we’ll never really know which came first, they are linked.” It is this connection to food, questions about how life begins and where our food comes from, that fills a child with joy and wonder when they come to Slide Ranch.

Please consider making a gift to support Slide Ranch’s inspiring programs today!

Thanks to the support of donors like you, we’ve already given 1,978 children this year the chance to connect with animals and nature, learn about sustainable farming, and develop an understanding of what it means to eat healthy and live a healthy, active life. By the end of the year, we'll have reached more than 4,000 kids!

By making a donation today you will make an immediate impact, which means we can reach even more children, like Aaron.

Aaron recently visited Slide Ranch with his school. After a jam-packed day at Slide Ranch, he went home and wrote us a letter. We receive hundreds of letters from children each year. To us, every letter is precious - it reaffirms that Slide Ranch has had an impact. We’ve awakened their curiosity and made a difference.

In fact, Aaron’s letter really says it best...

“It was a new experience for me to be on a farm, and the trip makes me think that there is a lot out in the world for me to see.”

Since our founding in 1970, Slide Ranch has worked hard to connect people of all ages and diverse communities to our programs. By making a donation today, you help us ensure that children from across the San Francisco Bay Area have access to this essential nature-based education.

When you see the face of a child light up as they eat food they harvested themselves from the garden, milk goats, go on a hike or see the ocean for the first time, you know you've made a connection. Aaron learned a lot on his day at the ranch, even conquering his fear of chickens and feeding them from the palm of his hand.

Words alone cannot describe how memorable and magical a visit to Slide Ranch is for a child, and we couldn’t provide this life-enhancing environmental education without the support of champions like you. We are so grateful for your friendship.

On behalf of all the children who you will help “plant in nature,” thank you for your generous support.