Friends Groups
Your special affinity for a specific park or forest means that a PPFF chapter friends group is the perfect outlet for your creative energy. Friends are people like you who volunteer their time, services and support to our state parks and forests. Chapters form for a variety of reasons but all understand the value of their state park or forest and share a common goal to make that park or forest the best in the commonwealth.
Every year, friends groups provide tens of thousands of volunteer hours working to improve and enhance state parks and forests. Friends groups connect people to the natural places of Pennsylvania while enhancing the role of public lands in local communities.
They’ll happily welcome you with open arms and a task or two of your very own!
In fact, some of the groups have shared their “people needs list” with us. Does your special skill match the needs of a nearby Chapter?
Check & See
Check out the Gallery of Friends Groups in Action for a glimpse at just some of the projects recently undertaken by these hard-working volunteers.
View ProjectsWhere Are the Friends?
All across the commonwealth, people like you are spending time and raising money for the places they love. Is your favorite place among them?
Find FriendsDonate to a Chapter
Know “your” Chapter and want to donate directly? Click here for the list.
Donate to a ChapterStart a Friends Group
Don’t see your special happy place in the list? Take up the mantle! Start one!
Learn MoreFriends Resources
If you are a member of an existing chapter (or even a friends group not affiliated with the Foundation), you’ll find useful information here.
Learn MoreSupport Our Work
Training. Providing technical services. Helping to navigate state requirements and non-profit best practices. Your support of the Foundation’s work in turn supports the local boots-on-the-ground.
Donate NowLearn More
Our Work
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any nonprofit. Whether you’re a trailbuilder, a wildlife expert, an event organizer, or one of those special people who always say, “Just put me to work wherever you need me,” Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests have a role for you.
Find your niche. Make your voice heard with decision makers. Pitch in with a friends group. Work on your own or with your family, friends, and co-workers as a Steward of Penn’s Woods. Support any of the programs and initiatives we promote. You will be welcome as a volunteer. And it’s as good for you as it is for your state parks and forests!
About Us
Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation (PPFF) began in 1999 as a statewide nonprofit organization to provide a voice for the Commonwealth’s 124 state parks and 2.2 million acres of forest land. With PPFF, citizens can donate or bequeath money to state parks and forests, become active and involved volunteers in the park and forest system, and find some fun and educational opportunities. We’re the official nonprofit partner of your state parks and forests. Be a part of the movement!
Protect Our Parks and Forests
A billion dollar need for our state parks and forests. With the support of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, that was the conclusion of The Legacy of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests: The Future Is In Our Hands. Read the report and find out more at ProtectOurParksandForests.org. For our health, our economy, and our future.