Dear National Trails Day® Event Hosts,

Thank you so much for participating in America’s largest celebration of trails on June 4, 2016! I wanted to send a special thank-you to you all for inspiring volunteers nationwide and hosting a trail stewardship activity at your NTD event. In total, 25,900 trail volunteers contributed $2.8 million in sweat equity on 466 projects, building and maintaining 1,200 miles of trail across America, all in one day!

I’m sure one day of service is not enough to take care of all of the trail maintenance needs you have, so I wanted to tell you more about our extended trail maintenance program, Volunteer Vacations. If you are not familiar with the program, Volunteer Vacations are week long trail building/maintaining projects organized by AHS & hosted by federal and state land managers, trail organizations and other nonprofit partner groups across the country. We understand that with reduced budgets and limited resources, trail building and maintaining needs often get backlogged or remain incomplete. Our Volunteer Vacations program is designed to send you a crew of eager volunteers, ready to assist with your trail needs. Any government land management agency or nonprofit organization can request a crew. (non-profit organizations will need to be Alliance Members of AHS to host)

American Hiking provides the following project assistance:
Promotion of your trip nationally through our website, printed trip schedule, industry events and through our sponsors and partners
Logistical support and communication throughout the planning and trip process
Volunteer food stipend for trips that cannot provide food
Assistance from a volunteer crew leader who will aid with menu planning, food shopping and lodging logistics

Volunteers Provide:
Volunteer labor and eager attitudes!
Camping gear (backpack, sleeping bag, tent, personal items) if indoor accommodations are not provided
Travel to and from a predetermined pick-up point, generally the closest major airport

Hosts Provide:
Project plan and backup plan
Technical expertise and supervision for the volunteers
Lodging/Accommodations for volunteers (cabin, lodge, house, improved or primitive campsite)
Tools & safety equipment/first-aid supplies
Group cooking supplies

Request a 2017 Volunteer Vacation Crew

Step 1: Read the Host Guide 2017 to determine if your organization can fulfill the responsibilities of hosting a Volunteer Vacations crew.

Step 2: Please consider the following, HERE, prior to submitting your request.

Step 3: APPLY ONLINE for a 2017 Volunteer Vacations crew

DUE DATE FOR ALL REQUESTS: OCTOBER 7, 2016

We will review your project request and let you know if we have any questions. All submissions will be contacted in October, 2016. If your project request has been accepted you will be asked to confirm final trip details and sign the 2017 Host Agreement. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again for hosting an NTD event and potential interest in hosting a volunteer crew with American Hiking Society!

Best,
Libby

Libby Wile, Senior Director of Volunteer Stewardship
American Hiking Society
8605 Second Ave I Silver Spring, MD 20910
lwile@americanhiking.org
p 301.565.6704 x 704