Most anyone can sign up to be an H. E. Butt Foundation Outdoor School Volunteer. All that’s required to apply is the willingness to try.
Volunteers can attend as little as one retreat per year. The retreats run three days, but volunteers are needed to help with activities for only one-and-a-half days of the retreat. (Some volunteers commute to the Canyon, but overnight stays are possible depending on Canyon vacancy.)
Anyone who applies will need to consent to a background check and a little advance training, provided by Director Erik Silvius or someone from the Outdoor School team.
Erik promises that the volunteer experience is its own reward. “The Outdoor program is the raw example of what time in the Canyon does for kids,” he says. “It gets to the core of the experience of just being in this canyon.”
Outreach Coordinator Liz Hoyer adds that you “don’t have to be an outdoor person” to become an Outdoor School volunteer. “You don’t have to be an avid biker, hiker, or anything. You just have to have a love for kids and education.
“I’m by no means an expert,” she says. “But I love kids, and I have a passion for teaching. I think that’s enough.”
To inquire, call 830-315-9228 or send an email to tmckinney@hebfdn.org.
