Recreation Ambassador Program seeks volunteers for 2026

LEAVENWORTH — The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce is still accepting applications for this year’s Recreation Ambassador program, which aims to provide consistency in staffing and messaging at some of the area’s most heavily impacted resources, trailheads and river access points.

Spanning 10 weekends throughout the summer, the program partners with nonprofit organizations to deploy volunteers at heavily trafficked areas, such as the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery, East Leavenworth Road Boat Launch Takeout, Barn Beach Take Out, Icicle Road Bridge, Icicle Gorge Trail, and Eight Mile and Stuart Lake Trailheads.

These volunteers will provide guest services, data collection, resource education, and outreach patrols. In turn, their nonprofit organization can earn up to $2,200 in grant funding per weekend. Organizations must meet all of the requirements to receive the full grant, including committing 72 volunteer hours per weekend, and completing training, end-of-day reports, and an online end-of-period report.

The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce is looking for 12 total Volunteer Recreation Ambassadors per weekend, in six teams of two, covering six locations. Three teams of two will be sent to a U.S. Forest Service trailhead location to partner with and/or assist U.S. Forest Service staff from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Another three teams will be sent to river locations from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, but times may vary slightly depending on the weekend.

According to the Chamber, preference for the Ambassador Program Service Grant is given to Chamber member non-profits that have an active volunteer program and can facilitate the program's goals. If it cannot fill the weekends with members, it will accept applications from non-member groups. Individuals who want to volunteer may contact the Chamber to be paired with a nonprofit in need of volunteers or to learn about other opportunities. 

According to the end of year report, the Leavenworth program distributed a total of $45,167 in grants across 13 nonprofit volunteer organizations in 2025. Volunteers and staff spent 492 hours at trailheads and 528 hours at river access points. They counted roughly 29,000 interactions with visitors and picked up nearly 4,000 gallons of trash. 

The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce says it will accept applications until all weekends are filled. More information and how to apply can be found by visiting leavenworthchamber.org/recreation-ambassador.