Participate in the 13th Annual Challenge for Charities by donating today through July 10!
You can learn about the 52 participating nonprofits on the Lander Community Foundation website. Here is a local organization doing some great work throughout Lander.
The Wyoming Youth Now Foundation (WYNOW)’s story began in 2020 as Wyoming’s state budget fell and legislators began cutting critical programs. Among these programs was the Wyoming Cowboy Challenge Academy, a unique, fully-accredited school for 16 to 18-year-old at-risk youth. It was developed as a practical, cost-efficient resource for helping young people in our communities become successful, productive adults. The academy is known by its acronym WCCA and has been a part of the fabric of our great state since 2006. Despite its proven track record of success and the fact that the Federal government funds 75% of its costs, WCCA’s legacy ended in September of last year (2022). Currently, our Wyoming youth are shipped out of state to other challenge academies throughout the nation.
WYNOW was founded in 2021 and is currently Headquartered in Lander, WY to provide financial and in-kind donations to the academy such as:
– School supplies
– Funding participation in extracurricular activities
– Scholarships to attend post-secondary education opportunities or skill certification training
– Improving employment opportunities by forming strategic partnerships with employers across Wyoming
– Graduate support (i.e. gang-related tattoo removal, surgical closure of large piercings, transportation cost assistance, professional clothing purchases)
We are continuing the fight for this critical community program! Please contact your local legislator today. We want our academy back and our youth kept in Wyoming!
We also want to take this opportunity to introduce our President, Mr. David Salazar. As the academy’s former deputy director, Mr. Salazar is intimately familiar with the program’s growth and demise. A marine veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mr. Salazar helped spearhead the school’s efforts to become accredited and implemented procedures to improve student retention, resulting in some of WCCA’a largest graduating classes between 2017 and 2020.
As part of the City of Lander’s Annual Pig Roast, we will host a 5K race for suicide prevention and awareness. We hope you join in one of three ways—donate, volunteer, or race.
To sign up: https://www.wynow.org/2023FunRun.html
To Volunteer: Go to LanderConnected.org
Become a Sponsor!! https://www.wynow.org/2023sponsorshipform.pdf
We are participating for the first year in the Lander Community Foundation’s annual Challenge for Charities (C4C)! With your donation, we will help Lander youths attend a Wilderness First Aid course or other types of educational opportunities that otherwise would not be accessible to them. Will you donate to WYNOW through C4C today and help us help Lander youth?
Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/WyomingYouthNowFoundation or here.
If you choose to join us in the 13th annual C4C fundraiser, fill out a donor form and designate your contribution to the organizations you choose to support. Mail a check payable to Lander Community Foundation, PO Box 1131, Lander, WY 82520 by July 10. Or donate online.
Email us at [email protected] or call 307-438-9247 if you have any questions.