The 2025–2026 school year is shaping up to be another ambitious one for Y.E.T.I. We are preparing to serve more than 400 young people through 9 weekly school clubs and over 230 outdoor trips, connecting with students in South King County, sharing the chance to experience the growth, joy, and resilience that come from time outside.

Over the past two years, our growth was made possible thanks to vital state funding from No Child Left Inside (NCLI), the Outdoor Learning Grant (OLG), and Violence Prevention programs facilitated by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. These investments fueled our ability to expand access to nature and adventure. Unfortunately, this funding is no longer available, creating a $200,000 gap in our budget, the equivalent of hundreds of missed opportunities for youth to connect with the outdoors.

But Y.E.T.I. has never been just a program, it has always been a community-driven movement, willed into existence by the dedication of volunteers, staff, teachers, parents, students, and supporters like you. And already, our community is stepping up in inspiring ways:

• Foundry10, a longtime foundation partner, made a generous $40,000 gift to cover the cost of running an entire school site for a year.
• The King County Parks Levy was renewed in August, and the next round of community grants was approved, bringing Y.E.T.I. another two-year grant of $82,500 a year.
• Individual donors have contributed with new recurring gifts and several large one-time donations.
  

Because of this incredible support, we are already more than halfway to replacing the lost funding, but the work isn’t done. This year, it will take all of us, staff, volunteers, students, parents, partners, and friends, working together to keep Y.E.T.I. doing what it does best: showing up in public schools and with community partners to say, “Let’s get outside together.”