Free to Be the Best Me: A Juneteenth Reflection on Outdoor Wellness

Free to Be the Best Me

A Juneteenth Reflection on Outdoor Wellness

Freedom anniversaries ask us to look both backward and forward. On June 19th, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, news of liberation finally reached Galveston Bay, Texas. That day, our ancestors stepped into a new reality that was equal parts possibility and uncertainty. Ever since, Black communities have marked Juneteenth with music, food, dance, and celebration.

We’re adding another layer to that tradition: we celebrate by moving our bodies through sunlight, fresh air, and wide open landscapes.

Making Waves: Freedom Flourishes in Community

Juneteenth reminds us that progress has always been powered by people working together. Today, expanding access to water safety and swim education requires that same spirit of collective action.

Making Waves is building a network of Community Collaborators who share our commitment to ensuring that Black children, families, and communities have access to life-saving swim education. Through these partnerships, we can create pathways to confidence, safety, joy, and belonging in and around water.

We’re not talking about one day clinics. Our goal is to connect families with a full beginner swim series that builds skills over time and empowers participants to reclaim freedom in the water.

Do you know a swim school, instructor, community organization, recreation center, or aquatic program that shares this vision? We’d love an introduction. Use the link below to refer to an organization.

If your organization is interested in joining the network, visit the Outdoor Afro app and submit a Swim Partner Application.

Apply or refer here

Why the Outdoors Matter

Outdoor Afro’s mission of reconnecting Black people with natural spaces springs from lived history. There was a time when forests hid patrolmen, lakeshore parks posted whites-only signs, and hiking gear ads erased faces that looked like ours. Yet our elders found ways to garden, fish, explore and thrive in nature all the same. Today, when we kayak rivers or learn to fish in our communities, we honor their ingenuity and announce, “We belong here.”

That belonging is also supported by decades of research confirming what intuition already knew. There are over 1000 studies on nature’s impact on wellness.

For Outdoor Afro, this matters because many of the wellness challenges facing our communities are connected to chronic illnesses like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes that disproportionately affect the Black people. Time outdoors is one practical way to support prevention, movement, stress reduction, and overall wellbeing.

Research on green space points in a similar direction. A 2024 systematic review and meta analysis found that greater access to green space was associated with lower odds of diabetes and hypertension. [1] Another large review found that nature exposure is linked with positive outcomes including improved blood pressure, physical activity, mental wellness, sleep, and cognitive function. [2]

The takeaway is simple: being outdoors supports wellness in many ways that don’t have to be complicated. A walk through the neighborhood, time near water, a bike ride, or a community hike can all become part of how we care for our bodies, steady our spirits, and practice freedom in real time.

Simple Ways to Thrive Outdoors

Nowadays, our community seems to be busier than ever, but you can embrace wellbeing through simple daily choices. We turned to Nicole Wilson, an Outdoor Afro Volunteer, to share her expertise by asking what is your NatureRx* and how does it help you feel free, grounded, and well in your body, spirit, and relationship with nature? *NatureRx is your personal prescription for wellness through nature. It can be an outdoor activity, place, or practice that supports your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing.

So let’s enjoy the fresh air as we elevate Juneteenth to more than a date on the calendar and into a season of embodied freedom that lasts all year. Download our app to explore upcoming events. See you on the trail where we are free to be well and free to become our best selves every step of the way.

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Sources:

[1] A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found that green space access was associated with reduced odds of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10953288 “Association of greenspaces exposure with cardiometabolic …”

[2] A 2021 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found evidence linking nature exposure with improved cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8125471 “Associations between Nature Exposure and Health – PMC – NIH”

by Sydney Winter

Mother's Day, Mother Earth

Mother’s Day is a reminder to look up, step out, and remember: care is lived in the everyday. It shows up in how we move through the world, how we tend to what’s around us, and how we stay connected to what sustains us. And in the way Outdoor Afro understands “home,” care has always been simple: we believe the strongest kind of stewardship begins with love.

Because when you fall in love with nature, you naturally want to protect it.

That’s the heartbeat of our work.

Outdoor Afro celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. We reconnect Black people to our lands, water, and wildlife through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. And in all the hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, gardening, skiing, and everything in between, there’s a deeper intention: our programs are designed to help people build real relationships with local ecosystems, close to home, rooted in community, and strong enough to last.

Love changes how you move through the world.

When a child learns the name of a plant, that plant becomes familiar. It becomes something to notice, to learn from, to care about.

When you spend time by the same creek across seasons, you begin to notice what shifts. You notice what belongs there and what doesn’t. You begin to understand it in a personal way.

When you find a trail that makes you feel peaceful, you want it to stay safe and beautiful. You want your niece to walk it one day. You want your elders to have a place where they can breathe. You want your people to keep gathering there with ease.

That’s stewardship. It begins with belonging.

One of the most powerful things Outdoor Afro does is create space for that belonging to grow. We invite people into nature in ways that feel welcoming and grounded. We help people touch it, learn it, laugh inside it. We make it feel approachable, especially for those who were taught (directly or indirectly) that the outdoors wasn’t meant for them.

The truth is, connection to land and water has always been present: in bodies, in histories, in the ways communities have always gathered, rested, played, and survived in relationship with the land.

Mother’s Day is a moment to acknowledge care as something practiced and shared, including care for the natural world.

The more people return to nature, the more care grows.

That care shows up in quiet ways that matter. It looks like treating a park like part of the neighborhood. It looks like noticing wildlife with respect. It looks like picking up a stray piece of trash. It looks like teaching children that the outdoors is something they are in relationship with.

It also looks like leadership. The kind Outdoor Afro has always stood for. The kind rooted in care and community, where people support one another in shaping the culture of outdoor life.

So on Mother’s Day, there’s an invitation to begin where you already are.

Fall in love with your local ecosystem on purpose.

Choose one place near you: a park, a trail, a shoreline, a community garden, even a stretch of sidewalk where trees grow. Visit it again and again. Watch it change. Learn one new thing each time. Bring someone you love. Let it become meaningful through attention and care.

That’s how stewardship grows. Through practice.

If you want to plug into Outdoor Afro this season, we’re here. Our year round activities are designed to make it easier to get outside with support, encouragement, and community, so relationships with nature can deepen naturally. Whether someone is brand new or has spent a lifetime outdoors, there is space for them in this family.

Mother’s Day is one moment in a continuing practice of care. The kind that ripples forward.

Because time spent with land and water shapes how people move through the world. It strengthens attention. It deepens responsibility. It builds a sense of connection to what will come next.

That is the future being built together.

So download the app and join us for a little fresh air!

by Sydney Winter

6 Steps to Fundraising $1,000+ in 5 Days (A Guide From Real People Who Actually Did)

If you’ve ever wondered how people actually raise serious money in a short amount of time… this is your guide.

Real people. Real strategies. Real results.

Let’s walk through six steps that can help you raise $$$ quickly, featuring Tennema (who raised over $1K) and Lydia (who raised over $2K in just 5 days).

1. Start Close; Your People Are Your Power

Before going wide, go deep.

Tennema started with the people who already know and love her:

“To get donations to my fundraiser, I started off by sharing the landing page in family/friend group chats. I included a brief message on why the fundraiser was important to me and shared that I would be very grateful for any contributions made towards it.”

This works because:

You’re not cold-pitching
You’re inviting people into something meaningful
People are more likely to give when there’s a personal connection

2. Make It Easy to Share (multiply your reach)

Don’t just ask for donations… ask people to spread the word. Tennema shared,

“I also encouraged my family to share the fundraiser within their own networks, which really helped cast a larger net.”

This is where things start to grow beyond your immediate circle.

Think of it like:

You → your people
Your people → their people

That’s how momentum builds.

3. Use Social Media (but don’t rely on it alone)

Social media helps, but it’s not the whole strategy.

Here’s how Tennema got strong results:

“My biggest influx of donations came when I shared the fundraiser on my personal social media platforms. I shared my goal and how close I was to meeting it, which I think made it feel attainable and didn’t pressure anyone to give a single large donation, but rather more smaller ones.”

Meanwhile, Lydia noticed something important:

“My initial posts had a minor impact: I posted on Facebook and LinkedIn, but these generated very limited traction—only one $25 donation on Facebook. This reinforced that passive posting alone wasn’t enough.”

Takeaway:
Post (but don’t stop there).

4. Make Direct, Personal Asks (this is where the money comes from)

This is the step most people skip, and it’s the most powerful.

Lydia’s biggest success came from email:

“Direct email outreach had a major impact! I sent a message to my holiday card/email list (about 90 people), which resulted in about $1,250 raised. I offered a personal match of the first donation that came through. This was the most effective single action—people who already had a personal connection to me were most responsive.”

And Tennema reinforced the same idea:

“I also sent a few individual messages to folks who wouldn’t have caught my messages in group chats/social platforms.”

Yes, it can feel uncomfortable:

“It was a bit scary initially making the ask, but because it’s for a great cause, there were many people willing to contribute.”

But this is where real results happen.

5. Tell a Story (video = even better)

People don’t just give to links. They give to meaning.

Lydia leaned into storytelling:

“Video storytelling = moderate impact. I recorded and shared a personal video explaining why Making Waves matters to me, paired with Outdoor Afro imagery. Posting this on Instagram and Facebook along with photos provided by Outdoor Afro helped raise another $750. At the end of the day, I posted another video thanking everyone for their response and gifts.”

Storytelling helps people:

Understand why it matters
Feel connected
See the impact

6. Follow Up + Show Gratitude (this builds momentum)

This is where good fundraisers become great ones.

Lydia stayed engaged throughout:

“I sent individual thank-you texts and emails as donations came in. This helped deepen relationships and encouraged continued sharing. I also got to hear from my friends and family why they also love Making Waves! Bonus: Posting a thank you message after my social media sprint resulted in $200 more in donations.”

And she didn’t stop there:

“I’m continuing with weekly follow-ups across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and email. I’m also removing people who have already donated to avoid over-messaging and keep outreach thoughtful.”

Her biggest lessons say it all:

“1. Personal asks outperform general posts; emails still work! 2. Video storytelling significantly increases engagement and giving 3. Consistent follow-up is essential 4. Gratitude builds momentum and community”