Simmons charity supports youth
Simmons First Foundation announced a $150,000 donation to The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas. The gift will support the chapter’s Youth Engagement Program and aid in efforts to restore wildlife habitat in The Natural State through controlled burns.
“Simmons First Foundation is proud to support the mission and vision of The Nature Conservancy,” Tommy May, chairman of the Simmons First Foundation, said in a news release.
“With this donation, we want to ensure future generations connect with nature and learn to preserve our environment so that it may be enjoyed for years to come,” May said.
The foundation designated $110,000 of the gift to support TNC’s Youth Engagement Program designed to inspire future conservationists and cultivate leadership and other skills through outdoor, recreation-based programs.
“TNC partners with other non-profits, agencies, schools, and community groups to meet youth where they are and offer fun, safe, recreation-based field experiences such as hiking, biking, paddling and fishing. For many youths, it is their first time experiencing the outdoors and connecting with nature in this way,” according to the release.
Examples of programs include:
■ The Bryant Boys & Girls Club summer adventure series to introduce youth to outdoor activities and skills, such as camping, kayaking and fishing;
■ An after-school bike club and clinic for sixth graders at Horace Mann Middle School at Little Rock to learn introductory mountain biking skills;
■ Working with Girl Scouts – Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas on opportunities to earn new badges for skills such as canoeing and backcountry readiness;
■ Working with Immerse Arkansas to provide new outdoor experiences to youths in the
foster care system.
■ Working with Little Rock Parks & Recreation to host biking, fishing and paddling events at city parks.
“We are grateful to Simmons First Foundation and Simmons Bank leadership for investing in our youth engagement program and habitat restoration in Arkansas,” said Scott Simon, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas.
“Most of us can trace our love of nature and conservation to an early memory or experience – exploring the woods, fishing with a grandparent, or canoeing with friends. Far fewer young people are having those experiences today. We want to cultivate that interest and curiosity in our youth so that we are nurturing the conservationists of the future. It is core to our mission,” Simon said.
The youth program reaches approximately 600 youth and families annually through at least 30 programs, many in central Arkansas. Within the next two years, The Nature Conservancy plans to expand the geographic reach of the program to northwest and south Arkansas, and the Arkansas Delta.
For 30 years, The Nature Conservancy and its partners in Arkansas have been restoring habitat through controlled burns. Arkansas’ fire community is working to increase habitat restoration through burning from an average 350,000 to 600,000 acres every year.
Simmons First Foundation designated $40,000 to support the purchase, training, and maintenance of Arkansas’ first fire ignition drone to help accomplish this target, and improve the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of prescribed burn in the state, according to the release.