Supporting Youth in Nature and Transforming Lives, One Person at a Time - Giving Tuesday 2023

Like thousands of nonprofits, we use #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, as our biggest fundraiser - a counterbalance to the intense focus on consumerism seen in Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Our #GivingTuesday goal is to support our expanded capacity and continue program development with Juvenile Halls in three counties, and the multiple youth-serving agencies and school groups we work with. In 2018 we procured a central base located just outside Yosemite Valley to host trips to Yosemite and we now have a base in Bishop, Ca for expanding our trips to the Eastern Sierra and the youth there.

We hike, climb, camp, back pack, spend time by lakes and rivers, do community service work with the Yosemite Park Service, the Bishop Paiute tribe, and art with C5 Studio in Bishop and connect through conversations, journaling, reflections and storytelling about how to connect to the natural world around us and explore its depths.

The Sacred Rok model is all about building relationships. We are looking to continue developing our programs to reach a broader a range and to further solidify our current contracts and connections. Our programs are free to the youth participants and the funding we seek would go directly to cover costs of running trips: insurance, transportation, food, park fees, gear and equipment.

We work with young people and youth-serving agencies throughout central and northern California - but we are unique because of our close and longterm work with incarcerated youth. We have partnered with Juvenile Hall in Merced County for over a decade, and with Juvenile Hall in San Benito County for 8 years and have been with Inyo County Juvenile Probation for 2 years now. Imagine helping these young people to feel safe and find their voice, knowing that they are loved and trusted.

The outdoor experiences we facilitate have such a longstanding and deep impact on the youth. "Whenever I spend time with Sacred Rock, I feel as if I don't have anything to worry about. I always experience something new and this time I saw two shooting stars for the first time, I love every moment I spend there." Sacred Rok Youth

It costs more than $90,000 a year to keep a youth locked up.

Here is what one Juvenile Hall youth says about Sacred Rok. “I have never been on a hike before that was my first time experiencing this type of journey. I thought it was pretty cool. I felt free! I was able to see a lot of different things out there. We saw a baby fox wondering around the park, a pair of squirrels asking for food. Everything was so green and we were surrounded by giant rocks and we even saw a beautiful waterfall. We went through caves and explored all over the park. We basically hiked all day and just kept going forward, it was a wonderful day. “ - Probation Youth

With your help, together we can further our commitment to supporting these youth in finding their own unique voices. Please consider donating this holiday season.

With Respect,

Katie Lambert

Chief Operating Officer