An Open Letter from Our Executive Director

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Despite all the challenges this year, we are grateful for all the ways we were with our community. We completed our Leadership Development Training, hosted our Resilience Conference virtually, pushed out a bunch of new, amazing resources on our blog and our YouTube channel, and co-created full-time outdoor educational support for K-2 in response to a virtual school year. The thing about this year that I appreciate the most is our team’s commitment to showing up for our community and our community’s commitment to supporting the work we do. We focused on creating a landscape that was more habitable for BIPOC/LGBTQ2S+ folks and have felt the immediate reward of our work.

2020 has shown our strength, determination, and commitment to each other. It’s shown what support during tough times can do. We could not have done this without you. And for that reason, I’m asking you to reaffirm your belief in Wild Diversity and donate to our year-end giving campaign. We need your help so that we can have the tools needed to actualize our mission. Our 2021 programing is centered on creating a sense of belonging for our community. We are partnering with land managers and private landowners to ensure that our outdoor experiences remain low risk from not only COVID-19, but from the increased racial tension and discrimination that our communities experience. Our presence on the water will increase the BIPOC visibility through our Yemoja Paddle Crew and our water POD adventures. Our Youth Ecology program is blooming as we continue providing outdoor education for our Wild X collaboration and for our youth partners. We will be offering a ton of opportunities for adults to advance their basic outdoors skills and provide leadership opportunities with the Resilience Outdoor Conference and our Leadership Development Training. My feet are on the ground but my eyes are wide and starry with the possibilities of all of our upcoming programs. When I founded Wild Diversity in 2017, I had this vision of strength in BIPOC and LGBTQ2S leaders supporting a robust and active outdoor community, and each year, I see more and more of those pieces manifesting right in front of me. With your support we’re able to make those dreams into a reality in ways that will directly impact the lives of real people in our community. Please consider a generous donation to help us raise $50,000 by the end of the year. These funds go directly to supporting these restorative programs for our community.

If you believe in the value of the work we do, commit to donating to Wild Diversity today. We hope to see you soon — outdoors in small groups or through our growing online community. Thank you for your faith in our work. Mercy M'fon Shammah Executive Director and Founder of Wild Diversity

DONATE HERE

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