Stroller Hikes 2011 Annual Report

Stroller Hikes was first created in 2006 by a mom eager to get outside with her baby to exercise and explore nature, but

not so eager to do it alone. Since 2008, Stroller Hikes has been a 501-c-3 educational nonprofit organization recognized

federally and in the state of California. Stroller Hikes’ Federal EIN is 26-3550147 and its California Corporation Number is

3160137.

The primary objectives of Stroller Hikes are:

To provide education for the general public through an informative website about hiking, running, biking, swimming, and other outdoor activities for families with children in strollers.

To promote healthy choices for families, with an emphasis on building an appreciation for nature, health, and fitness.

To directly engage in and to provide opportunities for others to engage in hiking and other outdoor events for families with children in strollers.

Board Members and Staff:

Debbie Frazier – President, Webmaster, Writer, Curriculum Developer, Event Leader Amy Bankhead – co-Secretary/Treasurer, Event Leader, Kaiser Outreach Coordinator Lisa Silberman Kafka – co-Secretary/Treasurer, Event Leader Melissa Jankowski – Board Member, Event Leader Amy Lim – Board Member, Event Leader Kristen McGuire-Husky – Board Member, Event Leader Pippa Gawley – Board Member, Event Leader, Grant Writer Amy Lim – Board Member, Event Leader Julianne Rice – Board Member Jennifer Snedeker – Event Leader Jennifer Wagner – Event Leader, Large Event Coordinator Audrey Banerjee – Event Leader, Large Event Coordinator Stephanie Antoine – Event Leader Andrea Schpok – Event Leader Megan Hawkins – Event Leader Amity Binkert – Technical Expert, Programmer, Internship Leader Emily Chueh – Technical Expert, Programmer, Internship Leader Ann Black – Event Leader Liza Letona – Family Camping Coordinator Lani Ho – Event Leader Ellin Payne – Event Leader Karen Brard – Event Leader Helen Han – Summer and Fall Technical Intern Puneeth Vijayendra – Summer Technical Intern Angela Lin – Summer Technical Intern

Stroller Hikers after a Toddler Trek at McClellan Ranch

Photo credit: Swati

Costume Contest Participants at Tutti Fruity Fun Walk/Run

Free Public Health Resource Run by Volunteers

Stroller Hikes continues to be a free public

resource run exclusively by volunteers.

Volunteers believe strongly in running this

resource that makes nature, exercise, and

social opportunities more accessible to new

families. Outdoor events have been linked

to decreasing prenatal and postpartum

depression, preventing Nature Deficit

Disorder, improving environmental

responsibility and understanding of natural

science, improving overall health, and

promoting creative, free play. In 2011,

volunteers provided 2238.5 hours of service,

including mainly technical support and event leadership.

Big Membership Means Big Events!

Stroller Hikes has offered one huge all-family event each year – its annual Camping Trip – but this year saw addition of

several other large events. As a resource that is completely open to the general public, we saw our newsletter

membership double in 2011 (to over 650 families), and more and more interest in weekend events. In 2011, we offered

the following large weekend events:

Volunteer Appreciation Potluck, hosted at the Silberman-Kafka residence in Mountain View, welcomed over a dozen

Stroller Hikes families and included food, trampoline jumping, and free play. It was a great chance to connect and

celebrate 2010’s amazing volunteers.

Burns Night Fundraiser was Stroller Hikes’ first time running a formal dinner fundraiser. The formal homage to poet

and nature lover Robert Burns, was held at Picchetti Winery in Cupertino and catered by Debbie Frazier with in-kind

donations from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and AG Ferrari. A bagpiper, wine tasting, and poetry reading

were included. 42 adults attended and this event raised $1039.47.

Tutti Fruity Fun Walk/Run was held just prior

to Santa Clara County’s annual Festival in the

Park. Stroller Hikes’ Moonlit Hikes’

popularity spurned Santa Clara County Parks

and Recreation to invite Stroller Hikes to

lead this Fun Walk/Run. Stroller Hikes

utilized EventBrite to register 86 for this free

family- and stroller-friendly event around

the lake at Hellyer Park in San Jose, which

included a group warm-up and costume

contest for participants that dressed as fruit

or vegetables. Safeway and Pirate’s Brands

were in-kind donors for this event that was

planned and executed by Jennifer Wagner.

With fresh berries at our camping trip

A misty Arastradero Stroller Hike

5th Annual Family Camping Trip was larger than ever, thanks to the generous

ongoing support of the Letona and Bravo Families. 88 Stroller Hikers

camped over a three-day weekend at the Bravo Ranch, a private ranch in

Soquel. Events included berry picking, tractor rides, playing by the creek, a

scavenger hunt, making bird houses, campfire games and marshmallows,

and other crafts. This event raised $606.40 for Stroller Hikes.

Stroller Hikes 5th Birthday Party was officially in October, but we celebrated

a month early thanks to donated space by Santa Clara County. 120 people

registered to attend this free event at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. We had

crafts, food, an obstacle course, glow sticks (for after-dark hiking), and a

huge raffle. $70.50 was raised from donations, though this was not billed

as a fundraiser. In-kind donations for food and raffle prizes were provided

by REI, ERGO, Full Circle Farms, Sunday Afternoons, Blossom Birth, Costco,

Sports Basement, Beauty Bloc, The Jankowski Family, and Yoga Is

Youthfulness.

Stroller Hikes’ Halloween and Harvest Festivus gave Stroller Hikers that had

not been attending events due to cold weather a free chance to celebrate nature, the season, and families. Audrey

hosted this weekend event that included crafts, a costume parade, games, and food. About 45 people attended.

2nd Annual Holiday Crafting Party provided nature-centric, Earth-friendly crafts for all ages. 2010’s well attended

Holiday Cookie Making Party at Debbie Frazier’s house prompted use of a larger venue for this year’s event. Sports

Basement hosted this free event, with added perks of providing snacks, encouraging use of a 10% discount (ongoing

for Stroller Hikes since 2008), and donating 10% of sales to Stroller Hikers to Stroller Hikes. About 36 people

attended, including some who had never heard of Stroller Hikes, $180.90 was raised, and participants left with salt

scrubs, garden flowers, glass charms, reusable snack bags, and more.

Events expand for Backpackers and Climbers!

2011 saw a banner year of volunteer support (2238.5 hours)

comprising of 252 events. New substitute procedures and

volunteers prevented several events from being cancelled due

to illness or travel. Events included tried and true Stroller

Hikes, Stroller Runs, Toddler Treks, and Moonlit Hikes, as well

as new programs for Rock Climbing and Backpacking

Bambinos.

105 Stroller Hikes were offered, mainly as our traditional fast-paced hikes for kids in strollers and moms moving quickly. Alternative Stroller Hikes also included picnic, naptime, and rugged events.

49 Toddler Treks were offered, for families moving more slowly, to encourage kids to walk.

44 Stroller Jogs were offered, most by our faithful running group at Stevens Creek Trail in Mountain View.

Clockwise from top: Climbing at Planet Granite, supermom Jenn enjoying a rugged hike at Mission Peak, a Backpacking

Bambino taking a lay of the land in Sunol, and Toddler Trekkers climbing trees at Windy Hill

18 Backpacking Bambinos events were offered, as a new program in 2011. Backpacking Bambinos began in February, originally catered to preschool to grade age children for preparations for an overnight backpacking trip. The realized audience was 2-year-olds up to 5-year-olds, and all participants practiced carrying some weight on their backs. Weekday events included preparation for later overnight trips, including assembling first aid kits and putting up a tent. We had 15 weekday events and 3 overnight events, which were all attended to maximum capacity at sites including Point Reyes, Sunol, and Yosemite. The Yosemite Trip was prompted after our most participatory family (Melanie, Michi, and Lukas Coffman) in this series opened their family cabin up to Stroller Hikes, for a weekend of hikes, climbing, and more in Yosemite.

7 Rock Climbing Events were offered at Planet Granite Indoor Rock Climbing Gym, as new opportunity for families with toddlers looking to improve coordination and confidence, while becoming familiar with a sport and practicing taking turns. Lisa Silberman-Kafka and Debbie Frazier led these events, belaying all participating kids.

4 Moonlit Hikes were offered at Vasona Park in Los Gatos, during near- or complete-Full Moon Saturdays, thanks to ongoing ranger support by Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation. In the spring, this Moonlit Hike series was discontinued, due to budget constraints by the county.

Dozens of Hours for Healthy Trails

Stroller Hikes has partnered with Santa Clara County’s Healthy Trails program,

providing leadership and prizes for people using county trails for fitness. Stroller

Hikes has offered Stroller Jogs, Stroller Hikes, Toddler Treks, Moonlit Hikes, and

Backpacking Bambinos at Santa Clara County Parks, and in 2011 offered 40 of these

that also qualified as Healthy Trails events. For more information about the Healthy

Trails program, see www.parkhere.org.

Interns Helen, Puneeth, and Angela

Gear On the Go

Gear On the Go is Stroller Hikes’ gear lending library, featuring tons of soft carriers, baby backpacks, and strollers. Gear On the Go found a new home, thanks to support by City of Cupertino, at Blackberry Farm, in the spring. Gear On the Go is available for families to borrow gear for Stroller Hikes events, travel, or for visiting guests. It is accessible 6 days/week during business hours, and requests for borrowing are made at least 48 hours in advance. Gear On The Go gear was used this year as follows:

Baby Jogger – used 12 times, lent to three people

Piccolo Carrier – used 25 times, lent to four people

Heavy-Duty “Umbrella” Stroller used 12 times, lent to two people

Backpack used once, lent to one person

Sling used 6 times, lent to two people

News, News, News!

Stroller Hikes continues to publish events online and in print media through Bay

Area Parent, Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, Palo Alto Menlo Park Mother’s Group,

and Santa Clara County Play Here. In 2011, Bay Area Parent printed two articles

featuring Stroller Hikes: an article that came out January 2011 on goals for the

New Year called “Common Mom Traps and How to Climb Out,” and a Summer

Survival Guide article on family hiking, particularly with very young children,

written by Debbie Frazier called “Happy Hikers at Any Age.”

Interns Roll Out Find A Hike App

Stroller Hikes offered its 3rd annual summer intern program,

offering a ten-week internship to three high school students at

Monta Vista High School in Cupertino. The full technical staff of

Stroller Hikes – Emily, Amity, and Debbie, advised the students,

providing weekly instruction on CSS, HTML, PHP, MySQL, and

Javascript, that were used to manipulate a MySQL database and

use it with a Find-A-Hike web application. Helen Han stayed on for

the 2011-12 school year to convert the web app to a mobile

platform (Android) and to implement changes in aesthetics and

WordPress, that were also begun during the internship. Beta

testing was completed for the Find-A-Hike web app in 2011, and it

will be made publicly available in 2012.

Sebastian making a movie

Toys and Tools on the Trail… Stroller Hikes purchased several supplies for event use in 2011, for safety, creativity, and engagement of children at events.

SPOT (Satellite GPS Message Device) was purchased for use during events in low-cell-reception areas. SPOT is a safety tool that communicates with satellites, alerting emergency responders with GPS information in the event of an emergency. The SPOT was used for all Backpacking Bambinos Events including overnighters, and made available to other hike leaders for other events.

Flip Cameras were purchased for use during Toddler Treks, to encourage small children to observe their environments and communicate their findings through film. Footage from these outings has been collected and edited for Stroller Hikes promotion, as well.

Laminated field guides were purchased for all outdoor Stroller Hikes events, to supplement our existing toys – magnification glasses and bug boxes. The field guides include local plants, fungi, and animals. Children enjoy using the guides to identify things they see, including live organisms and footprints. The guides have also been informative for parents about poisonous plants and fungus they may see on Stroller Hikes events.

… And Off the Trail 2011 was a big year for improving information for participants and data from leaders, thanks to tremendous technical support from several Stroller Hikes volunteers, including two new technical staff members and three interns.

Stroller Hikers appreciated seeing photos of event leaders online, and a dynamic slideshow of Stroller Hikes events and quotations, to further personalize StrollerHikes.com.

Stroller Hikes’ Facebook Page, was used by several Stroller Hikers to invite others to impromptu events including snow play, identify observed plants and animals, and to enable a more personal connection to Stroller Hikes, its events, and its volunteers.

Roonga was used to post Stroller Hikes’ Gear On the Go lending options, and several Stroller Hikes families signed up at Roonga to lend and borrow other family-friendly outdoor gear.

Stroller Hikes joined a few dozen other local nonprofits for the launch of Serve Surfer, an online volunteer-opportunity resource, at which Stroller Hikes has posted volunteer needs.

An interactive Google Calendar posted all events for Stroller Hikes, and enabled instant addition to personal digital calendars, links to maps/directions, and automatic uploads to Stroller Hikes’ event description list.

Google documents associated with a weekly automated poll were used by event leaders to record 71.6% of events, to indicate attendance at events. For these events, over 711 adults and 842 children attended.

Community Outreach and Partnerships

Community outreach beyond Stroller Hikes weekly events included:

Kaiser Permanente Parenting Course Guest Presentation on

Stroller Hikes

Las Madres Playdate with Guest Presentation on Stroller Hikes

Tutti Fruity Fun Walk/Run Coordination, Marketing, and

Leadership

Classes on Family Fitness and Camping at Sports Basement and

Blossom Birth

Stroller Hikes’ Holiday Crafting Party at Sports Basement

Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation’s Festival in the Park

Family Fun Day (in collaboration with Blossom Birth, Hand in

Hand Parenting and BABI), that Stroller Hikes helped to

organize, and provided an obstacle course for the event

Stroller Hikes Technology Summer Internships with Monta

Vista High School students

Earth Day Festival at Full Circle Farm, where Stroller Hikes

provided a Mothering Tent

Ridge To Bridge with Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, for which Stroller Hikes provided on-trail tools for kids

Mommy and Me at Santana Row, for which Stroller Hikes shared a Sensory Game and provided information

New and maintained partnerships included:

Bay Area Ridge Trail Council

Bay Nature

Blossom Birth

Children in Nature Collaborative

Children, Nature, and You

Baby Boot Camp

Las Madres

NorCal Bike/ BikeForums.net

Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation

TRI-California

Roonga

Serve Surfer

McClellan Ranch / Blackberry Farm

City of Cupertino

Pirate’s Brands

Sports Basement

Kaiser Permanente Parenting Classes

Full Circle Farms

In-Kind Donors included:

Blossom Birth

ERGO

Sports Basement

Trader Joes

Safeway

Whole Foods

AG Ferrari

REI

Yoga Is Youthfulness

Beauty Bloc

Sunday Afternoons

TRI California

Full Circle Farm

Costco

Jankowski Family (Backpack for Birthday Raffle)

Letona Family (Crafts for Annual Camping Trip)

Carter-Giannini Family (Stroller for Gear on the Go)

Financial Overview

Stroller Hikes relies heavily on volunteer support, and received dramatically more hours of volunteer support in 2011

than in prior years. 100% of the Stroller Hikes board volunteers and/or provides financial support to Stroller Hikes, a

testament to the dedication of Stroller Hikes leadership. Total Revenue, below, includes the volunteer support,

calculated with minimum wage to determine financial revenue equivalence. The pie charts and tables that follow

summarize the financial revenue without volunteer support included. Expenses are also included, and show that a vast

percentage of spending goes towards educational programs and events, and maintenance of our educational website.

Total Revenue Value ($)

Volunteer Support* - 77.6% 17908.00

Community Support (Independent Donations) - 11.3% 2604.26

In-Kind Donations- 9.5% 2191.74

10% Back from Sports Basement - 0.7% 155.90

Google AdSense - 0.5% 109.51

Matching Donation Program from Microsoft - 0.4% 100.00

Dividends - < .1% 1.10

TOTAL 23038.51

* Calculated based on a $8/hr minimum hourly wage

Financial Revenue Value ($)

Community Support (Independent Donations) - 87.7% 2604.26

10% Back from Sports Basement - 5.2% 155.90

Google AdSense - 3.7% 109.51

Matching Donation Program from Microsoft - 3.4% 100.00

Dividends - < .1% 1.10

TOTAL 2970.77

Expenses Value

Educational Program/Event Expenses - 72.2% 2028.90

Website Maintenance & Development - 19.4% 543.54

Marketing - 4.9% 136.53

License, Tax, Government, & Financial Fees - 3.5% 99.46

TOTAL 2808.43

Stroller Hikes thanks all donors and volunteers in 2011. Stroller Hikes’ success as an organization relies on volunteer

support through in-kind work and financial and product donations. Thanks for making 2011 a fantastic year for Stroller

Hikes!

Volunteers of the Year: Amity Binkert and Megan Hawkins – 282 volunteer hours combined

Amity Binkert joined Stroller Hikes in 2011 as a Technical Expert, and provided programming,

planning, and internship guidance as Stroller Hikes completed intern work from 2010,

streamlined their weekly newsletter maintenance and monthly event maintenance, improved

data logging about event participation, and led interns in 2011. Her attention to detail, vast

experience in cyberspace, and vision for Stroller Hikes’ future as an ongoing, free, easy-to-

maintain resource for families all over the Bay Area, has reinvigorated StrollerHikes.com and

modified Stroller Hikes’ technical goals. Amity also participated with her family in several

Backpacking Bambinos events, helping to launch that new program, even serving as a substitute

hike leader for one of these weekday hikes. Thank you Amity!

Megan Hawkins joined Stroller Hikes in 2010 and has been one of our most reliable

leaders. With rare vacation breaks, Megan tirelessly leads weekly fast-paced Stroller Hikes

in the San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Alviso, and Mountain View Area.

Regularity of events and consistency of leadership have allowed Stroller Hikes to become a

reliable resource for many families, and Megan has fostered many positive social and

health habits amongst her participating families, as well as for her daughter, Vera. Thank

you Megan!

Donors of the Year: Lisa Silberman Kafka and Family

Lisa Silberman-Kafka and Family are honored this year, as our donor family of the year.

Lisa has been involved with Stroller Hikes since its inception, and has served as a Board

Member and co-treasurer/secretary since 2008. Lisa is well known for hike leadership

that is toddler-friendly, initiating our rock climbing series this year, hosting our annual

volunteer appreciation potluck, and raving about the virtues of healthy eating and green

living. Rolled into the Kafka donations this year are the matching donations they

facilitated from Microsoft, which matches financial donations for registered 501-c-3

organizations like Stroller Hikes. Thank you Lisa, Steve, Samuel, and Shira!