Get Black and Hispanic youth into climbing!

Hey everyone, we are Nyasha Knigge and Conrad Booker!

We are juniors at Trinity School in NYC. We are both dedicated youth competitive climbing athletes, with a total of 10 years of competition experience between us. We are requesting funding for a program that we would like to start, RockRoots, which would introduce Black and Hispanic youth to climbing at no cost.

As Black athletes, we have seen extreme underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic youth in rock climbing. We refuse to believe that this is due to a lack of hard work or determination by Black and Hispanic children. The fact is, climbing is a privileged sport, especially at a competitive level. The only way to train is through a facility, requiring at the very least a costly membership and rental equipment. Naturally, the historically underprivileged are the most left out of the sport. This is why we are creating RockRoots, to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, starting at the youth level.

All funding would be used entirely to support these kids, including: climbing gym memberships for the children, shoe rental, chalk bag rental, and possible USAClimbing memberships (needed for competitions).

We thank you for your consideration in funding RockRoots!

Love,

Nyasha and Conrad

PS: Lisa Booker is handling payments between GoFundMe and the Cliffs at Harlem.