Hi Email,

Thanks to park supporters like you, thousands of students get to experience our incredible national parks every year—many of them for the very first time!

Sometimes, that visit changes everything...just ask Jennifer Shackelford!

When she was in fourth grade, she stepped off a school bus at Mammoth Cave National Park and met a ranger who seemed to know everything about parks. By the end of that field trip, Jennifer understood two things: parks hold something irreplaceable, and that she wanted to spend her life protecting them.

Nearly three decades later, Jennifer is now the one answering the questions, waving as the bus pulls in, and letting students know that "the National Park System belongs to all of us."

She's the Environmental Education Coordinator at Mammoth Cave National Park in south-central Kentucky, and every year, she helps students discover the park—just like she did as a bright-eyed fourth grader.

In 2025 alone, Mammoth Cave's educational program introduced nearly 7,000 students to parks through in-person field trips—thanks, in part, to NPF funding!

And your support is what provides that funding and makes this all possible: instilling an awe of parks in our young people and opening doors for future rangers like Jennifer.

Thank you for inspiring the next generation of park lovers. I know for me it made all the difference! Thank you!

Warmly,

Marshall Chappell Digital Specialist, Annual Fund National Park Foundation