YES Nature to Neighborhoods

02/26/2025

Our YET and ALP Fund-Racers are soooooo close to hitting their goals! Help them cross the finish line before the race this Saturday March 1 🏁🥇

01/31/2025

Summer Camp registration opens on February 18th! ☀️🌲🌈🛶⛺️

Eligible youth and families receive 100% scholarships to any session of their choosing at any of our 7 camp partners AND the first 100 campers to register will get a free YES t-shirt (because you'll need something to tie-dye!). Visit our website to learn more about how to qualify and register.

Share this post with the parents, family, caregivers, teachers, coaches, etc. to help connect young people in our community with unforgettable moments like these 📸💌

12/03/2024

is well underway and we're already 60% of our way to reaching our goal and unlocking an additional $7,500 match!

Your gift today supports paid internships for young people in our programs to kickstart their journey of leadership and change-making.

Invest in the next generation of community leaders at yesfamilies.org/donate

12/03/2024

is here! ❤️ Today YES is raising money to support stipends for another year of interns like Leo to discover the passions and skills that will help them lead.

Reaching our $7,500 goal equates to stipends for three paid internships for one program cycle, meaning we could guarantee these opportunities for the next generation of YES teens.

But it gets even better! A generous donor has joined our YES Board for a collective dollar-for-dollar match. That means when we reach our goal, we'll unlock an additional $7,500! Head to yesfamilies.org/donate to have your gift doubled.

Did you have a first job or internship that inspired you? Tell us about it in a comment!

11/09/2024

Now especially, we're feeling the importance of gathering, celebrating, and healing in community.

If you're feeling the same way, come join us TOMORROW! The Rich City Kickback is the perfect opportunity to explore self care and wellness practices that work for you and to take part in community healing. Admission, services, activities, take-homes, performances--all FREE! ✨

Even more, your attendance supports the TREES program's call for increased investment in informed and accessible mental health care right here in Richmond.

Remind yourself of everything that's good, and come join us 💜

11/08/2024

Together, we will move forward.

In the spirit of reflection, connection, and healing, here are a few resources for you to explore and find support this weekend.

+ Spend time outdoors on the Richmond Greenway or Miller Knox Regional Park, where you can experience the quiet, healing power of nature.
+ Explore Oren Jay Sofer’s collection of audio meditations to calm and center your mind: https://www.orenjaysofer.com/audio
+ Find an event or gathering where you can be wrapped in community (you can join YES at the Rich City Kickback this Saturday! More info on our page)
+ Research groups working toward a future you believe in and get involved

11/03/2024

Just one more week ✨ Catch these incredible organizations, businesses, artists, and performers at the Rich City Kickback NEXT SATURDAY 11/9! Entry to the event and all offerings are free ⛅

RSVP at the link: https://qrco.de/bfR01S

10/04/2024

Back for a third year! ☁️✨

Join us at the Richmond Rec Center on Saturday November 9 to support community-centered wellness. Explore a wide array of offerings (for free!) from local organizations and businesses from self-care to group activities, and best of all, join the TREES program's call for greater investment in community healing.

Don't miss it! Register for FREE at the link: https://qrco.de/bfR01S

09/12/2024

Nature Day Outings are BACK! ☀🚲🎨🌳

Enjoy an afternoon in our local parks without any of the stress or cost of planning. It's a great way to start the school year with healthy habits by spending a few hours moving your body, experiencing new hobbies, and spending time outdoors with family.

Head to the link to RSVP 🔗 http://bit.ly/47fNL9R

09/09/2024

Being a 25 year-old organization, YES shows it's age in a few different ways... decades-long partnerships, evolved programs, multigenerational family campers... a box of office tech like this! ☎️

We spent some time digging through closets and cabinets and getting organized as part of our recent staff development week, and we turned up plenty of things to keep us entertained. Some of our not-pictured finds included:

🖍️ more colored pencils, markers, and crayons than you knew existed
🪫 a vast assortment of used batteries ('cause ya never know, right!)
📚 a stapler from the 1950s
✂️ those scissors we had all been looking for (but apparently never looked very hard for)
🍫 a long-forgotten stash of marshmallows and chocolate bars, and evidently, the root of our kitchen's ant problem 🐜🐜🐜

08/27/2024

The YES office is closed and staff will be away from their emails and phones this week as we take time for rest and development ☀️

We look forward to returning to our regular schedule next week—prepared, rested, and ready for an incredible fall season of programming!

08/19/2024

Last Chance!

Summer is officially over for our West Contra Costa students and that means today is your last chance to secure a very cool, very eco-friendly, very limited edition, 25th anniversary YES camp mug. Community pride, supporting outdoor equity, and a perfect temperature beverage--what more could you ask for in a mug!?

To get yours:
⭐ Make a single gift of $250+
⭐ Establish an automatic recurring monthly, quarterly, or annual gift of ANY amount
⭐ Already a Sustainer? Send us an email or follow the link in your latest receipt to increase your donation amount or frequency

All donations or gift amendments must be made on or by Monday August 19th ⏰ Head to yesfamilies.org/donate 🖥️

08/14/2024

warning: fake blood 🩸

DID YOU KNOW: most of YES's program team members are Wilderness First Aid certified! 📃

came to our office earlier this year for a two-day intensive course where staff learned how to assess damage, dress wounds, perform CPR, treat weather-related illness, transport injured companions out of the backcountry, and a slew of other skills we hope we'll never need! 🩼🏥🩹

The major takeaway from the course was YES staff feeling more confident and prepared facilitating safe outdoor experiences for folks of all ages, abilities, and comfort levels. ALSO noteworthy were the various Oscar-worthy dramatizations the team committed to 🏆

08/01/2024

Raise your hand if you wish your summer looked like this 🙋 🙋

07/26/2024

There's only a few weeks of summer left, which means time is running out to claim a commemorative 25th Anniversary camp mug! It's not often you find drinkware that let's you show off your love for Richmond AND the outdoors AND one of your favorite social profit orgs, all while keeping your beverage the perfect temp. Don't let the opportunity pass you by...

To get yours
🌟 Make a one-time gift of $250 or more
OR
🌟 Establish a recurring gift of ANY AMOUNT

Head to yesfamilies.org/donate to claim it.

Did someone say limited edition swag?? 👀

Keep your beverage the perfect temp while championing Richmond families and outdoor equity—these 25th Anniversary insulated camp mugs will be the perfect addition to your morning routine, whether you're sipping outside your tent, on your commute, or just around the house. And it can be yours!

The first 25 people to make a gift of $250+ OR establish a recurring gift of any amount before summer ends on August 19th will be sipping in style for years to come. Head over to yesfamilies.org/donate to claim yours while they're still here.

Raise your hand if you want one! 🙋

07/16/2024

Did someone say limited edition swag?? 👀

Keep your beverage the perfect temp while championing Richmond families and outdoor equity—these 25th Anniversary insulated camp mugs will be the perfect addition to your morning routine, whether you're sipping outside your tent, on your commute, or just around the house. And it can be yours!

The first 25 people to make a gift of $250+ OR establish a recurring gift of any amount before summer ends on August 19th will be sipping in style for years to come. Head over to yesfamilies.org/donate to claim yours while they're still here.

Raise your hand if you want one! 🙋

06/21/2024

Come out tomorrow night to support our friends at East Brother Beer Co. and you’ll be supporting YES at the same time!

For Pride+Purpose Day, East Brother will donate 10% of all sales to YES for outdoor access and leadership development work here in Richmond. So meet some friends, grab a beverage, support a great local business, and give back to your community—all at once! 🍻

06/19/2024

A brief Richmond history lesson fit for Juneteenth 📖

When the Parchester Village housing development sprang up in the Northernmost tip of Richmond after WWII, the neighborhood become a safe haven for the Black families and workers who had driven Richmond's economic boom but were turned away from home ownership in most other parts of the city. Parchester Village was (and is!) a community in the truest sense: backyard BBQs and cookouts, kids playing together outside, an active neighborhood council that led the charge for street lights and transit and access to segregated spaces.

Parchester's proximity to the undeveloped shoreline was a huge selling point for residents who came to Richmond from rural communities in the south and valued open space. Residents of all ages enjoyed the land adjacent to their homes to the fullest—fishing, swimming, exploring, birdwatching, relaxing. When the shoreline property was sold in the 70s and development proposals began emerging, Parchester residents suddenly had to fight for what seems so basic: access to nature.

Rev. Richard Dotson led his neighborhood's efforts in opposing the marshland's development and pulled in allies to amplify their voice. In 2008, the neighborhood could finally relax when the land was acquired by East Bay Regional Park District, ensuring it's preservation for recreation and protection for generations to come.

Rev. Dotson's son, Whitney, matched his father's passion and determination. Later that same year, he won a seat on the Board of Directors. When the marsh was renamed in the family's honor in 2017, Whitney was there to represent his family's and community's love of the outdoors and fierce advocacy for accessibility.

TLDR: The Richmond outdoors have, are, and will continue to be shaped, protected, and loved by Black residents.

📸: East Bay Regional Park District