REI Spokane continues financial support of community groups

REI Spokane continued a tradition of supporting local organizations this month by presenting grants to three community organizations promoting outdoor recreation. Spokane Parks and Recreation board will receive $4,464.09 for use in trail rehabilitation and restoration projects in the Beacon Hill/Camp Sekani area. Friends of the Centennial Trail will receive $10,000 for stewardship of the trail, the same amount given to the Riverside State Park Foundation for stewardship. Carol Christensen from REI Spokane said this is the largest amount of grant dollars, and a perfect example of REI’S mission: “To inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship,” is what drives the market-based grant program. Partnerships like those reflected in the most recent round of grants are crucial to making that mission a reality in our community.” The recipients will also build upon this grant to benefit patrons even more, she said. The Friends of the Centennial Trail and Riverside State Park Foundation pooled a portion of their grant funding to hire a volunteer coordinator to “recruit, train, and supervise volunteers to perform repairs, maintenance, and cleanup of the Centennial Trail, including campgrounds, recreation sites, and cultural sites and to create and maintain a database of volunteers.” All three organizations have already been active in getting volunteers on the trails with more than 150 hours logged through the volunteer coordination program and several trail projects completed at Beacon Hill/Camp Sekani. For more details about volunteer opportunities at these locations contact Jake Graham at Riverside State Park, riverside@parks.wa.gov, or Mike Aho with the City of Spokane, maho@spokanecity.org. For more information about REI’s giving programs, visit rei.com/stewardship or contact Christensen at cchrist@rei.com.