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

Celebrating Our Outgoing Board Members: Melanie Strong & Michael Brune

At Outdoor Afro, our story has always been shaped by people who believe deeply in the power of connection to land, to community, and to ourselves. Two of those people, Melanie Strong and Michael Brune, have helped guide that story in profound ways.

As their board service came to a close at the end of 2025, Mike after eight years and Mel after six, we find ourselves not just reflecting on their leadership, but feeling the lasting imprint of their presence across the movement.

Their time with Outdoor Afro was about more than governance or guidance. It was about belief. Belief in a vision that Black joy belongs in nature, that leadership can be cultivated outdoors, and that when people are given space to connect, something powerful unfolds.

One of the most vivid reflections of that impact comes from Mel Strong, who recalls a moment that brought the mission into full clarity:

“The moment that best captured the power and possibility of our mission came when I was at a Ramble Campground last year and met Black families and first-time campers laughing together around a campfire and saying, ‘This space is for me too.’ That feeling of ease and joy in nature is exactly what Rue set out to create. Watching it come to life made the mission very tangible for me.”

It’s a simple image, families around a campfire, but it holds something expansive. A sense of belonging. A quiet shift in what feels possible.

Mel has seen that shift happening across the country, as more Black hikers, campers, and cyclists step into outdoor spaces not just as visitors, but as participants in a growing culture of connection and joy.

“I’m proud to have been part of building something that helps create real opportunities for Black joy in nature.”

For Mike Brune, that sense of possibility stretches back to the earliest days of Outdoor Afro.

He first met Rue Mapp while serving as Executive Director of the Sierra Club, shortly after she founded the organization. Even then, something about her vision stood out. “I was inspired by her vision and deeply impressed with her positivity, charisma, and clear strategy for how to grow the organization,” he shares.

Both Mel and Mike describe their time with Outdoor Afro as transformative thanks in part to what they helped build, and in how they themselves were changed.

For Mel, the experience deepened her personal relationship with nature in a way that went beyond recreation.

“Being part of Outdoor Afro’s board deepened my relationship with nature in a very personal way. I’ve always loved the outdoors, but this experience helped me see it not just as a place for adventure or escape, but as essential to my own mental health and sense of wholeness. It reminded me that nature is medicine, and that time outside is foundational.”

Her time on the board also expanded her understanding of the historical relationship between Black communities and the outdoors: one rooted not in absence, but in legacy.

Mike reflects on the people who make up the Outdoor Afro community, leaders from across industries and backgrounds, all drawn together by a shared commitment to something larger than themselves.

“We have nonprofit leaders and venture investors, outdoor industry executives, tech leaders, accountants, lawyers, doctors, and longtime volunteers,” he shares. “We all carve out time in our busy lives to get outside for reflection, inspiration, solace, and adventure.”

Through that collective commitment, he’s witnessed both the barriers people face and the beauty that emerges when those barriers are removed.

Looking ahead, both Mel and Mike speak with a sense of hope for growth and for deepened impact.

Mel envisions a future where connection to nature is simply part of everyday life: "Black joy in nature is simply part of everyday life, where kids grow up seeing themselves reflected in outdoor spaces, and where communities continue to shape outdoor culture.” She sees Outdoor Afro evolving in ways that go beyond access, into long-term pathways for wellness, leadership, and generational connection, noting, “The next chapter isn’t just about getting more people outside. It’s about creating lasting pathways for wellness, leadership, and connection to the land so our kids and grandkids inherit a stronger relationship with nature.”

Mike, when asked what inspires him most about the future, offers a simple but powerful answer: “The people,” he says. “What a beautiful thing to be a part of. I’m grateful to Rue for her hard work and determination, and to the quietly inspiring board members and other volunteers who have brought her vision to life.”

As we celebrate Mike and Mel’s service, what stands out most is not just what they’ve done, but what they’ve helped make possible.

More connection.
More leadership.
More joy.

We are deeply grateful for their partnership, their vision, and the legacy they leave behind—one that continues to grow every time someone steps outside and feels, maybe for the first time:

This space is for me too.

by Camille Rochester

From Ripples to Waves: How Your Support Helped 3,200 New Swimmers in 2025

From Ripples to Waves: How Your Support Helped 3,200 New Swimmers — and Why This Work Matters More Than Ever

Across the country this year, something powerful happened in pools, swim schools, and community centers. Because of people like you, more than 3,200 Black children, parents, grandparents, and caregivers were able to learn lifesaving beginner swim skills through Outdoor Afro’s Making Waves program.

Each of those 3,200 swimmers carries a story — a before and after. A moment of hesitation turning into a smile. A bit of fear turning into a breath of courage. A first float. A first kick.

This isn’t accidental, it’s the result of a clear mission: helping Black families not only learn to swim, but reclaim and strengthen their relationship with water — a relationship that has been historically disrupted.

Why Making Waves Exists

Swimming isn't just a life-saving skill, it's a nature-connecting one. Yet the racial disparities in access and safety are stark.

According to the CDC, Black youth ages 10 to 14 drown in swimming pools at more than 8 times the rate of their white peers. This isn’t due to a lack of interest — but a legacy of exclusion from public pools, beaches, and waterfronts.

Outdoor Afro launched Making Waves in 2019 to address this public health crisis by removing a key barrier: cost.

Our mission is simple: Help every Black child and caregiver within our reach learn how to swim — safely, confidently, and joyfully.

The Making Waves program covers the cost of beginner swim lessons for children, adults, and families nationwide. Families choose the instructor or the facility that works best for them, we handle the reimbursement, they handle the joy.

This year’s challenge was our largest yet — and you helped us meet it.

We set out to fund 2,000 new swimmers in 2025. We not only met our goal, we exceeded it, funding more than 3,200 new swimmers before year's end.

Meet the Swimmers You Supported

Below are just a few of the many stories shared with us this year. Each represents a family who gained safety, confidence, and connection because someone like you chose to invest in their experience.

Laila, 5 — “We realized she was meant to swim.”

For Laila and her mom Krystal, swim lessons opened a door to something unexpected:

“I’m so glad that we received a scholarship to put my daughter Laila (5yrs) in swimming. It was her first time, but soon enough, we realized that she was meant to swim! She is a natural in the water, and just seeing her blossom from this experience has been great.”

What started as a first lesson has become a passion:

“Even now, since the scholarship has ended, she still goes to swimming lessons and has promoted throughout her swim levels. She can now float unassisted, glide through the water, and is working on her backstroke.”

Thanks to the Making Waves program, Laila discovered something she truly loves and developed a skill that will stay with her for life.

Sabrina’s 3-Year-Old — “She wholeheartedly enjoyed it!”

In Minnesota, Sabrina wanted her daughter’s introduction to water to feel safe and joyful:

“I have nothing but great things to say about Outdoor Afro! They made it possible for my 3yr old to have swimming lessons, which she wholeheartedly enjoyed! Water safety is very important to me along with enjoying the water! Thank you again!

This is what it looks like when access and joy meet early. A strong start at age three can shift the trajectory of an entire family’s relationship with water.

Carolyn, 59, & Her Four Grandchildren — “After all of these years, I finally fulfilled my lifelong dream.”

Perhaps one of the most moving stories this year came from Carolyn, who decided it wasn’t too late to learn:

“After all of these years, at age 59, I finally fulfilled my lifelong dream of learning to swim.”

She didn’t stop there. She enrolled four grandchildren, ages 10, 5, and 4-year-old twins:

“The 10 year old was so fearful of the water, but after 3 sessions this summer he swims like a fish. The 5 year old is improving as a beginner and the twins ‘had fun.’ We will all take lessons again next summer so we can be safe and enjoy the water.”

This wasn’t just one person learning to swim. It was five. Five new stories, five safer swimmers, five deeper connections to water and to each other.

Family transformation — that’s the impact you helped create.

More Stories, More Joy, More Safety — All Made Possible by You

These three stories are only a glimpse into the families who wrote to us this year:

Parents like Marquita, who said swimming lessons helped her overcome a lifetime of anxiety around water.

"Thankfully I found Outdoor Afro and their swimming reimbursement program. This allowed me and my daughter to take lessons and me to overcome my anxiety. I feel more comfortable swimming and have even started going to local indoor pools regularly for fun and exercise."

Adults like Aja, who shared:

“I’ve always been a lover of water and adventure — but my fear of drowning and inability to swim held me back. This scholarship from Outdoor Afro gave me the opportunity to conquer that fear and experience more of life how I’ve always wanted. Not only am I learning to swim myself, but I’m gaining skills transferable to those around me. I am beyond grateful for this scholarship and the initiative Outdoor Afro has taken to empower people."

Teens, toddlers, parents and grandparents who discovered courage and connection in the water.

Every one of these moments was made possible because someone believed Black families deserve safe, supported, joyful access to water.

And we’re not done yet.

Where We’re Going Next

We surpassed our goal of funding 2,000 swimmers this year. We funded over 3,200 swim scholarships and now we’re headed for the next milestone: 5,000 swimmers.

With your support, we can get there and continue removing financial barriers to swim education for Black families across the country.

Your donation helps ensure that another child, parent, or grandparent can step into the water with confidence.

Help us reach 5,000 swimmers this year. Your support funds real families, real stories, real transformation.

Make More Stories Like These Possible — Donate Today.

by Outdoor Afro