Since 1983, the National Park Trust, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has been dedicated to preserving parks and encouraging everyone to have an American park experience. In 2008, it created the Youths the Parks Scholarship Fund to help all children from every background enjoy an American park. In addition, the "Where's Buddy Bison Been?" program was instituted to promote families to visit parks. The NPT distributes Buddy Bison stuffed animals to teachers, who hand them out to their students. When kids visit a national, state or local park, they can post pictures of themselves with Buddy Bison on Buddy Bison's facebook page. This helps cultivate an awareness and appreciation of parks for our current and future generations.