14 projects selected from 23 applications will share in a $100,000 grant to be issued by Project Outside. Pete Eshelman is director of the Roanoke Outside Foundation, which initiated the Project Outside fundraising campaign. Eshelman says the repairs and maintenance requests funded may have taken much longer to be completed otherwise. Greenway repairs, trail work and support for outdoor businesses impacted by the pandemic were among the first ground of Project Outside grantees.
(From News Release) Project Outside grant recipients:• Blue Ridge Off-Road Cyclists: $20,000 to purchase a walk-behind skid steer machine to be used on regional trail projects.•
Roanoke County: $15,000 to match other funds and install a new Roanoke River access ramp at Wayside Park.•
City of Roanoke: $15,000 to aid in repairs to the Roanoke River Greenway in Southeast between 13th Street and Piedmont Park.•
Alleghany County Parks and Recreation: $9,744 to purchase a maintenance vehicle for the 14.4-mile-long, crushed gravel Jackson River Scenic Trail.•
Humble Hustle: $9,000 for Project PARK (Peaceful Areas of Recreation for Kids), an initiative to improve Villa Heights Recreation Center.• Franklin County Parks and Recreation: $7,150 to build a new beginner/intermediate mountain bike flow trail in Waid Park.•
Alleghany Highlands Trail Club: $5,750 to rehabilitate the 11-mile long Fore Mountain Trail which is a key trail connector between Clifton Forge and Covington.•
Catawba Sustainability Center: $4,200 for improvements to a trail being built that connects the center with the Appalachian Trail. This will provide an alternative parking location for people accessing the popular McAfee Knob.•
Franklin County Parks and Recreation: $3,300 to purchase trail building and repair tools for a growing network of volunteers.•
Total Action of Progress: $2,880 to start Project Discovery, an outdoor club to connect underserved youth with the outdoors.•
River Rock Climbing: $2,120 to offset losses incurred by the pandemic. During their required shutdown they still paid employees. • Pathfinders for Greenways: $2,000 to purchase tools needed for trail building and maintenance.•
Ride CFVA: $1,000 for marketing the startup business catering to mountain bike tourism in the region.
