POWR announces 2023 Pennsylvania Sojourn Grant Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2023

Media Contact:
Janet Sweeney, POWR, 570-718-6507

Dallas – The Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Pennsylvania River Sojourn Grants. These grants are awarded on a competitive basis. 

The Pennsylvania Sojourn Program is administered by POWR in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The PA Sojourn Program is nationally unique, distributing grants across the state to local organizations and their sojourn events. These grants support between 10 and 15 paddling events each year, encompassing over 500 river miles and 50+ on-the-water days, offering more than 100 educational programs, and engaging over 4,000 people.

Sojourns are not only a fun outdoor activity but are also an effective tool for raising awareness about our rivers and the issues affecting them, educating, and enhancing community involvement about natural and cultural resources, and promoting and encouraging watershed stewardship. The Sojourn program serves as a bridge to bring our communities to our rivers and streams to educate them, enabling them to become lifelong stewards of these resources. River sojourns offer a different point of view on some of Pennsylvania’s treasured landscapes and historic and cultural assets.

To view a map of sojourns planned statewide this year, click on this link: 2023 Sojourn Map

2023 PA Sojourn Mini-Grantees:

Conemaugh Valley Conservancy for the Stony-Kiski-Conemaugh Rivers Sojourn scheduled for June 1 through June 4, 2023

Conestoga River Club for the Pride on the Conestoga scheduled for June 4, 2023

Conestoga River Club for the 3rd Annual Conestoga Sojourn scheduled for June 24 through June 25,2023

Endless Mountains Heritage Region for the Summer and Fall Heritage Benefit Paddles scheduled for July 15, 2023 and October 7, 2023

Endless Mountains Heritage Region for the Youth Heritage Sojourn scheduled for June 15 through June 17, 2023

Friends of the Riverfront for the Lock Through Paddle scheduled on May 6, 2023, June 3, 2023, July 1, 2023, and August 5, 2023

Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy for the Perkiomen Creek Sojourn and PA State Water Trail Celebration scheduled for June 3, 2023

Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy for the Perki-Bay Expedition: A Youth Sojourn from Source to Sea scheduled for June 19 through June 23, 2023

Schuylkill River Greenways for the Schuylkill River Sojourn scheduled for June 17 through June 23, 2023

The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership for the Paddler’s Toolkit Workshop Series scheduled for May 20, 2023, June 24, 2023, and July 8, 2023

The Watersmith Guild for the First Waves – Regional Series scheduled for May and September of 2023

Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition for the 2023 Delaware River Sojourn: “Running Free” scheduled for June 16 through June 23, 2023

Wildlands Conservancy – Environmental Ed Center for the Lehigh River Sojourn scheduled for June 10 and June 11, 2023

About POWR

POWR, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, administers the Pennsylvania Sojourn program. POWR has been in place for over a decade and has sponsored trips on many of the Commonwealth’s rivers. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR) is the prime sponsor of the program.

Media contacts: 

Janet Sweeney, POWR, 570-718-6507