Knoxville, Tenn. (February 1, 2010) – SportDOG Brand, a leading manufacturer of sporting dog training gear and accessories, has provided a $1,000 grant to the Tennessee Kids in Outdoors (TKO) Program via the company’s annual Kids in Conservation® grant program.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation (TWRF) started the TKO program in 2010 with a goal of encouraging youths to get outside to learn about and enjoy the great outdoors. In its first year, TKO connected more than 5,000 youths with outdoors activities. The program was piloted in middle Tennessee, and the goal is now to expand it across the state.

The National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl and Cumberland Rivers Compact, along with many city and county agencies in middle Tennessee have provided funding assistance with TKO events. Activities have included youth fishing days and youth hunts.

"This is the second grant we've awarded to a youth group as part of Kids in Conservation," said Eleanor Marshall with SportDOG Brand. "The TWRF has really taken the lead with this initiative, and we’re proud to support a program like this right here in our backyard.”

The SportDOG Conservation Fund was created to support conservation organizations and projects SportDOG Brand customers care about. In 2009, the company extended the project to include Kids in Conservation as a way to lend support to and recognize groups and individuals whose efforts ensure wise use of natural resources for generations to come.

For more information on SportDOG Brand and its Conservation Fund, visit www.sportdog.com.