Team ESPN, the corporate outreach program of ESPN, Inc, and Wonderful Outdoor World (WOW), sponsored by The Walt Disney Company, are bringing 20 children from Salt Lake City, Utah chapter of WOW to this year’s Great Outdoor Games Presented by Dodge event, scheduled July 8-11 from in Madison, Wisconsin.
The youths and their chaperones will travel to Madison, WI for a hands-on learning experience at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, where they will serve as “Environmentality Ambassadors,” staffing a WOW booth in the heart of the Interactive Village, sharing recycling tips, Leave No Trace principles and leading environmental activities for visitors to the Games.
The group will also enjoy a tour of ESPN The Truck and participate in a service project in a local park as well as a tree planting at the Great Outdoor Games site.
“This is an extraordinary initiative that demonstrates ESPN’s commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of youth via sports and community involvement,” said Juliet Gilliam, director, ESPN corporate outreach. “We look forward to the exposure of this once-in-a-lifetime experience for these kids, broadening the horizons of their aspirations and dreams.”
“The WOW kids live in lower-income neighborhoods in the Salt Lake City area. The opportunity to travel across the country and participate in a major sporting event is truly a privilege,” said Troy Bennett, Director of Utah Federation for Youth and the WOW program in Utah. “These kids are excited about the trip and look forward to showing off the camping skills they’ve learned at WOW.”
The Walt Disney Company, a national sponsor of WOW, will donate round-trip transportation from Salt Lake City, Utah to Madison, WI.
W.O.W.
The WOW-Wonderful Outdoor World program, now in its 10th year, introduces inner-city youths to the joys of outdoor recreation, camping, and environmental education through an overnight camping experience in a local park. WOW began in Los Angeles in 1994 and has since expanded to Arizona, Colorado, Washington DC, Utah, and New Mexico. National WOW sponsors include The Coleman Company, Leave No Trace, Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks, The Recreation Roundtable, USDA Forest Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, USDI National Park Service, The Walt Disney Company, and Wells Cargo.
Great Outdoor Games
Top outdoor athletes from around the world compete for entry into the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. The ultimate championship of outdoor sports features one-of-a-kind, head-to-head competition in timber and target events, sporting dogs, and fishing. While entertaining large crowds on site, the ESPN Great Outdoor Games also draws a worldwide television audience airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports.
By: ESPN Outdoors
