NATIONAL PARKS BLOG

There are so many great ways to visit, share and support America’s iconic, national treasures during the holiday season. Here are a handful of our suggestions:

• Give The Gift Of The Parks - Thanks to the generosity of the National Park Foundation board, all year-end gifts (between now and December 31) will be matched up to $75,000! That means your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Pretty incredible, right?! And when you make a donation to NPF, we’ll send you a special printable certificate to include in a stocking or under your Christmas Tree.  I also recommend you check out our gift guide to shop for more gifts that give back to our national parks.

• Holidays In The Parks – From Alaska to Georgia, we pulled together an impressive list of not-to-be-missed holiday celebrations for you to enjoy!  Definitely check them out!

• Hooray For The Holidays! – Now listen up, this is the part where we thank YOU and give back to YOU! From December 19 through December 23, you could win the ultimate national park prize pack including a free annual pass to America’s nearly 400 national parks and roundtrip airfare to any national park destination Southwest Airlines can take you to, outstanding outdoor gear, NPF apparel, and more! Join us at today at www.facebook.com/nationalpark and learn more about Hooray for the Holidays!

• Watch The 2011 National Christmas Tree Lighting From President’s Park On-Demand! Let us bring the spirit of the season to you with the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree at www.thenationaltree.org or by checking local PBS listings for airdates and times. Promise you won’t be disappointed as you watch President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and their family, along with a star-studded list of performers including Big Time Rush and Ellie Goulding, OneRepublic, Rodney Atkins, Marsha Ambrosius, Kermit the Frog and host Carson Daly having a wonderful time together at the 89^th National Christmas Tree Lighting!

On April 5, 2011, I gave birth to my first child, a son my husband and I named Jamie. I was surprised at how quickly my perspective on most everything changed. My priorities instantly shifted to focus on his life, the experiences he would have, and how I could positively impact his future.

Like most parents, I want my son to lead a happy, active, healthy life, enjoying the outdoors as often as possible. I want him to breathe fresh, clean air. I want him to explore nature first-hand. I want him to have access to our national parks and I want him to have opportunities to learn and experience history in the places and sites where it actually occurred. I was fortunate enough to have these opportunities and I want the same and more for my son.

So, on my very first Mother’s Day, I am asking all of you to join me by supporting and protecting our national parks. This is a gift we can give our children, ourselves and all posterity and, thanks to Macy’s and the National Park Foundation, there is an easy way to do it.

Now through Mother’s Day, we can send free, personalized Facebook messages to our loved ones in honor of Mother’s Day 2011 and support the National Park Foundation at the same time! For every message that is sent where the sender selects the National Park Foundation as the charity of choice, Macy’s will donate five dollars, up to a total of $400,000 in the recipient’s honor to the National Park Foundation. Visit http://prks.org/parkmom to send a message right now! It’s an incredible opportunity to both honor our moms and all those special to us while simultaneously supporting the parks. I hope you’ll join me!

It’s not every day that you will help protect our national parks and preserve our environment by simply clicking your mouse. But today you can! Target has created a great opportunity for all American’s to help raise cash support for our national parks - and all it takes is casting an online vote.

The National Park Foundation was selected by Target to benefit from Bullseye Gives, a two-week long giving campaign on its Facebook page. From May 10th to May 25th, Facebook users have the power to decide how Target will distribute $3 million among ten nonprofit organizations - including NPF. The percentage of votes the Foundation receives will represent its portion of the $3 million.

So take a few seconds and lend your support for our national parks. Visit Target’s facebook page, click the “Vote” tab and cast your ballot for the National Park Foundation.  Vote today and every day through May 25th.