Give thanks to the fisheries you love.
In celebration of Thanksgiving and "Giving Tuesday", I wanted to reach out to tell you about the incredible "community" of anglers and supporters of YDCCF. Anglers will go to great lengths to pursue game fish and, in turn, work tirelessly to help protect and enhance the fisheries, wild places and communities where fish live. YDCCF supports the local fisheries, ecosystems and communities where Yellow Dog customers travel and where great angling is found. In our inaugural year, we leveraged $45,000 for grass-roots projects in Alaska, the Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Cuba, Florida, Idaho, Mexico and Montana. Many individuals and industry partners joined us to make these grants possible and we are extremely grateful to have had such a successful first year. A few grant and project highlights include:
- Completely rebuilt the local public school bathrooms in the fishing village of Punta Allen, Mexico.
- Supported the advance of “Stream Access Now”, an effort to educate and motivate citizens to uphold and protect stream access across the country.
- Sustained efforts to stop illegal gillnetting in southern Belize along the Honduran and Guatemalan borders in an efforts to protect and preserve the area fishery.
- Provided 17 young leaders from rural Bristol Bay communities with guide training, allowing them to pursue jobs in the recreational fishing and outdoor tourism industry.
- Helped restore access to hurricane ravaged Sandy Creek in the Bahamas.
- Created a fly fishing curriculum in Cuba to teach youth about fly fishing and potential jobs and careers in outdoor recreation and tourism.
52 of the lodges that Yellow Dog works with and represents are joined with YDCCF and are donating funds for every Yellow Dog client on qualifying trips: amounts that are then matched by Yellow Dog and donated back to YDCCF. Click here to see a list of partners.
In 2018 we intend to double the number of projects we support and the amount of funding we award. By giving to YDCCF, you can help us double our efforts for the communities and fisheries you care about. YDCCF is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your support, help ideas and consideration.
Sarah Tilt
Executive Director