American Hiking Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| American Hiking Society | |
 |
|
| Founder(s) | Bill Kemsley Jim Kern Paul Pritchard |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Area served | United States |
| Revenue | $977,606 USD (2006)[1] |
| Employees | Approximately 10[2] |
| Members | Over 7,000[3] |
| Slogan | Promoting and protecting foot trails and the hiking experience |
| Website | http://www.americanhiking.org/ |
The American Hiking Society is a Maryland-based non-profit dedicated to preserving trails, the areas that surround them and the hiking experience itself. It was co-founded in 1976 by Bill Kemsley, the founding editor of Backpacker (magazine). The charity obtained a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator in 2007[1].
[edit] Programs
The American Hiking Society has three main avenues of action:
- Volunteerism and Outreach including Volunteer Vacations, which mobilize volunteers to work on trail maintenance, and National Trails Day, which is held the first Saturday every June to spead awareness and celebrate hiking.
- Policy and Advocacy: working with Congress to develop hiker-friendly legislation and various federal agencies on implementation.
- Trail grants and assistance: the Society provides grants to local organizations for building and maintaining trails, providing nearly $50,000 of funding in 2007 [3]. Also, this organization heads up the Alliance of Hiking Organizations, a network of hiking and trail clubs from all over the country.
