It’s the season for gratitude. And now more than ever we feel grateful for our playground called planet earth. It’s also the season for giving. And what better time to protect our playground for future years and generations than now.
At Gaia GPS, we believe in supporting and partnering with nonprofit organizations working to protect the planet and grow outdoor participation among youth and underrepresented communities. We believe that together we can make a difference.
Built on this bedrock of belief, last spring our parent company Outside launched Find Your Good. We partnered with 14 nonprofits that further our mission of getting everyone outside and supporting a healthy planet.
This giving season, we hope to raise $2,500 for each of our non-profit partners. Meet Gaia GPS’s two favorites, and consider joining us in fueling your adventures by finding your good. We need your help!
Big City Mountaineers: Providing Transformative Outdoor Experiences to Underprivileged Youth
For more than 30 years, Big City Mountaineers has acted on a core tenet: every person benefits from a personal connection to nature. Research shows that meaningful experiences in nature reduce stress, improve physical health, and lead to better education outcomes. These experiences enhance perseverance, problem-solving, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork. BCM focuses on bringing those benefits to youth in low-income communities and communities of color that face specific systemic challenges to greater access and opportunities in the outdoors.
“By providing free, fully-outfitted, and professionally led outdoor and backcountry trips, we’re able to give students ages eight to 18 the opportunity to connect with nature and reconnect with their strengths, skills, and resilience,” says Executive Director David Taus.
Big City Mountaineers’ Work
BCM’s program includes four stages that all build to a successful experience:
- Introducing the program to students and their families through an orientation at a partner youth agency.
- Building skills and trust among the group in preparation for the expedition through single-day hiking opportunities, paddling lessons, or “camp life” trainings designed to facilitate self-reliance.
- Multi-day expedition or an overnight camp. The experienced guidance of BCM’s course instructors ensures that students are engaged, supported, and given the most positive learning experience possible.
- Translating the breakthroughs and learning the students achieved while on the expedition to their lives back home.
Giving Goal
If we reach $2,500, Big City Mountaineers will be able to take 20 kids out on their first-ever day hike. Additionally, Smartwool will match what we can raise up to $2,500. So your donation gets automatically doubled!
Protect Our Winters: Helping Passionate People Protect the Places They Love to Play
Founded in 2007 by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones, Protect Our Winters (POW) helps passionate outdoor people protect the places and lifestyles they love from climate change. A community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders work to advance non-partisan policies that protect the world today and for future generations.
“All we have to do is look outside to see that the climate crisis is urgent and the places we go to recreate, explore, subsist and find peace and quiet are changing before our eyes,” says founder Jeremy Jones. “The science is clear that the clock is ticking and we have a short time to drastically curb our emissions to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.”
POW’s Work
POW believes in the power of the collective voice of what it calls “The Outdoor State,” the 50+ million outdoor enthusiasts in the U.S. and uses social media campaigns like #CrushItForClimate to reach advocates with education and inspiration. The organization has a proven track record of impact:
- 33 million people reached through a nonpartisan voting campaign
- 32 democratic and republican congress members met with POW ambassadors
- 9,622 POW members contacted elected officials
- 29,000+ voter intentions facilitated
- 1.3 billion impressions for climate from 622 pieces of media coverage
- 7,500 people attended POW virtual events
Giving Goal
With $2,500, POW can train two ambassadors on science, solutions, and messaging to prepare them to effectively lobby and advocate for bipartisan solutions that keep carbon in the ground.
