About
Hoods to Woods Foundation is transforming access to the outdoors for BIPOC youth from underserved NYC communities by using snowboarding, camping, and mentorship to build leadership, resilience, and lifelong connections to nature. What started as a small carpool to the mountain has grown into a year-round, culture-shifting movement that empowers youth to not only experience the outdoors but to lead in it.
Program Details
Mission
Hoods to Woods Foundation exists to rewrite who belongs and leads in the outdoors by providing BIPOC youth from underserved NYC communities with free access to snowboarding, camping, and mentorship. Through transformative outdoor experiences, we build leadership, confidence, and resilience, creating a pipeline of future leaders who carry these lessons into their families, communities, and careers.
Description
Hoods to Woods Foundation was created to address a simple but devastating truth: many youth from New York City’s underserved BIPOC communities have never set foot in nature. Structural barriers like cost, transportation, and cultural representation keep them from experiencing the transformative power of the outdoors. We believe that nature is not a luxury but a right—this is why our free snowboarding, camping, and mentorship programs provide access to the outdoors, where participants can build confidence, resilience, leadership, and long-term community bonds.
What makes us stand out is our community-rooted leadership. Our founders grew up in the same neighborhoods as our youth, and they know firsthand what exposure to nature can unlock. What started as a simple carpool to Mountain Creek has grown into a year-round leadership pipeline serving over 130 students annually, with plans to expand to 200 by 2025. Approximately 10% of our alumni return as volunteer mentors, ensuring youth-led leadership stays at the core of our model. In 2024, we began expanding into culturally-relevant overnight camping experiences, further deepening youth’s connection to nature.
We have received support from national and local partners, including REI Cooperative Fund, Share Winter Foundation, Justice Outside, Burton Philanthropy, Patagonia, and Arc'Teryx. Moving forward, our goal is to deepen our impact through expanded enrollment, stronger alumni leadership programs, and more multi-seasonal outdoor experiences, ensuring that leadership in the outdoors reflects the full diversity of our city.
Services Offered
Snowboarding & Outdoor Education: Free snowboarding instruction for BIPOC youth ages 11-18, including indoor and outdoor sessions (Mountain Creek NJ & Big Snow NJ), equipment, transportation, and instruction.
Mentorship & Leadership Development: Ongoing mentorship from staff, volunteers, and alumni, fostering personal growth, resilience, and leadership skills.
Alumni Volunteer Program: Opportunities for program graduates (18+) to return as volunteer instructors, creating a leadership pipeline within the community.
Overnight Camping & Nature Programming: New culturally-relevant overnight camping experiences to deepen youth’s connection to nature and environmental stewardship.
Community Partnerships: Collaborative programs with NYC public schools, non-profits, and community organizations to broaden access to outdoor experiences.
Life Skills & Social-Emotional Learning: Programs that build confidence, teamwork, perseverance, and emotional regulation through outdoor challenge-based learning.
Cost to Participate
All Hoods to Woods programming is offered completely free of charge to participants and their families. We intentionally eliminate financial barriers by covering 100% of program costs, including transportation, equipment, instruction, meals, and overnight camping experiences. This full scholarship model ensures that youth from underserved communities can access the outdoors regardless of financial circumstances.
Contact Brian Paupaw, Executive Director brian@hoodstowoodsfoundation.org (646) 644-2030 Hoods to Woods Foundation
Population Served
We serve BIPOC youth ages 11-18 from underserved communities across New York City and the tri-state area. Many of our participants face systemic barriers, including limited access to nature, financial constraints, lack of transportation, and few culturally-relevant outdoor opportunities. We prioritize youth who have never experienced outdoor recreation or leadership development in natural spaces.
Staff Composition
Executive Director (Full-Time): Co-founder and organizational leader overseeing operations, fundraising, partnerships, and strategic growth.
Program Coordinator (Part-Time): Manages program logistics, youth enrollment, data collection, and onsite coordination during sessions.
Communications Coordinator (Part-Time): Supports outreach, social media, storytelling, and community engagement.
Camera/Video Editor (Part-Time): Produces media content that highlights program impact and youth stories.
Social Media Coordinator (Part-Time): Manages digital presence and amplifies program visibility.
Volunteer Instructors & Alumni Mentors: Approximately 10% of alumni return as trained volunteers who help lead sessions, mentor youth, and model leadership development.
Board of Directors: Provides oversight, governance, and strategic direction, with members reflecting diverse professional and lived experiences.
Research Connections
At this time, Hoods to Woods is not formally affiliated with academic institutions or published research studies. However, our work is deeply informed by research on Positive Youth Development (PYD), nature based education, and the mental, emotional, and social benefits of outdoor engagement for BIPOC youth. We actively reference peer-reviewed studies on the impact of nature exposure, proprioception, and outdoor experiential learning to inform our program design and evaluation.
We recognize the opportunity for future academic partnerships and would welcome collaboration with research institutions to further evaluate and document our impact.
Group shot of students and volunteers.
