Thanks to our Basementeers, Sports Basement was able to give Latino Outdoors over $3,400 this year!

Sports Basement's funds will be used to cover program supplies, food and entrance and parking fees as well as Leadership classes and workshops for the Latino Outdoors community.

About Latino Outdoors

Latino Outdoors is a unique Latinx-led organization working to create a national community of leaders in conservation and outdoor education. As part of this work, they are focused on expanding and amplifying the Latinx experience in the outdoors; providing greater leadership, mentorship, and professional opportunities while serving as a platform for sharing cultural connections and narratives that are often overlooked by the traditional outdoor movement. It is a space for the community to be present, share their voices, and showcase how conservation roots have been ingrained in la cultura Latina for generations.
 

 
The Latino population is the fastest growing demographic in the United States, but among the most underrepresented in conservation, outdoor recreation, and environmental education. In a short period Latino Outdoors has expanded from a California based organization to an international volunteer movement. The original model is replicable and allows individuals to include their unique passions in each outing location and at each event. Through this network, volunteer leaders support each other in leading responsible recreation, providing mentoring activities to youth, expanding outdoor access through experiential programming, and partnering with other organizations for supplemental education components.

Mission & Values

They inspire, connect, and engage Latino communities in the outdoors and embrace cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative, ensuring their history, heritage, and leadership are valued and represented. 
 

 
Latino Outdoors strives to make the outdoors a safe and welcoming place for all people, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, ability, language, and nationality. This extends beyond their outdoor programming to their core values as an organization, especially one that understands the history and power of public policy and legislation in protecting public lands and landscapes that enjoy today, but that many times came at the expense of communities that were marginalized and displaced. Latino Outdoors welcomes the full spectrum of people and stands in solidarity with all individuals, organizations, and societies that uphold this value. 

Vamos Outdoors Outings Program

In 2022, Latino Outdoors outings will consist of a mix of in-person group outings and online activities that bring nature to families at home. Funding from Sports Basement will help support in-person, physically-distanced, and online programming in the Bay Area such as acquiring program supplies, equipment, and activity fees. Funding will also support training to enhance staff and volunteer capacity for delivering safe and family-friendly activities, including outdoor leadership classes/workshops, introductory campouts and backpacking adventures.
 

 
Guided by Latino Outdoor’s theory of change, volunteers craft outdoor experiences that emphasize connections between people, place, process, and policy. The goal is to inspire participants’ conservation ethic, encourage their evolving engagement in outdoor recreation, and perhaps most importantly, recognize and celebrate the diverse ways in which diverse communities already connect with the outdoors. Latino Outdoors believes these outcomes will arise naturally if individuals and communities have an equitable opportunity to play and recreate outdoors.