Meet the Crew: Millstone Fund, benefactor

Thanks to Millstone Fund for supporting Adventure Crew with a $25,000 grant this year! 

Adventure Crew aims to address the disparities in accessing natural spaces and outdoor recreation that BIPOC and low-income youth experience in our city. Increased access leads to more time in nature and outdoor recreation, which in turn activates the mental health protective factors of physical health and social connectedness, among others.

Accomplishing this goal requires a shift to an organizational culture that centers the lived experience, strengths and values of the teens we engage in our programs so we can effectively and authentically evolve to meet their changing needs.

Funding from the Millstone Fund will support the addition of a new full-time program manager this spring and more hours for existing part-time staff to work with the director of programming in leading this growth. Funding will also provide necessary professional development in youth leadership and participatory action research methodology, two evidence-based processes that will lead to greater agency, commitment and impact for teens participating in our programs.

Millstone Fund is a private family foundation in Greater Cincinnati. Jeremy (Jerry) F. Simpson, who led the Cincinnati-based company Rotex (an evolution of the Straub Mill Company), launched the fund in 2019. The millstone symbolizes both the company's history and the idea of "doing good turns for others," as Jerry liked to say. The fund focuses on "improving the quality of life of people throughout Greater Cincinnati by supporting nonprofit organizations that work to better our community." 

Adventure Crew is thrilled to be one of those organizations. Thanks to the Millstone Fund for supporting our mission of Outdoors for All!