ARDC Grant Funds YOTA Americas Camps Through 2025

ARDC Funds YOTA Americas Camp For 3 Years

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has awarded a grant for ham radio summer camps through 2025.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has awarded a grant to Youth on the Air to fund the Americas-wide YOTA summer camp through 2025.  The funding from ARDC is for $125,000 over the next 3 years.

Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) was founded in 2011 by a small group of young radio amateurs. Together, they created the world’s first YOTA camp, which was nothing more than a few friends getting together for a weekend to play ham radio. In a matter of just a year, the organization formalized, got the attention of the IARU, and became an officially supported advocacy organization for youth in amateur radio. This effort continued and expanded the camp and spawned many successful sub-regional camps throughout IARU Region 1. This idea has now spread to the Americas, where a group of hams has also been conducting camps for and by young hams.

This grant will enable YOTA to conduct summer camps in 2023, 2024, and 2025. It will also allow the group to expand the capacity at the camps.

In the future, YOTA Americas plans to add subregional camps and a “kid’s camp” called YOTA Camp Junior for kids under 15 (with parents involved).

For details about the camp, visit the camp web page at YouthOnTheAir.org or contact Neil Rapp, WB9VPG at director@youthontheair.org.  For details about ARDC and the grant program, visit ardc.net.

Click here to see the official press release.