Mission Accomplishments Perfectly Aligned
Our Corporate Partnership with REI By Sarah Gorecki, Development Director
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Trail & Timberline
We can’t thank REI enough for being such a great partner of the Colorado Mountain Club. In addition to hosting the Banff Mountain Film Festival, REI invites the CMC to lead climbing classes on their climbing pinnacle in the Denver flagship store, they advertise CMC events for us in their newsletters and in their stores, they help to get the word out about the CMC through outreach events, and they support our Youth Education Program with a generous grant each year. They also direct enthusiastic recreationists to the CMC through the Outdoor Recreation Information Center (ORIC), which the CMC helped to create more than 10 years ago. REI has helped the CMC with many other events, such as Radical Reels, the Backcountry Bash, and Hike For Youth. We’re even exploring the idea of doing Youth Education Classes at the Denver flagship store, as a “satellite classroom.” The ways in which the CMC and REI work together could fill pages.
REI does more than sell outdoor equipment. “One of the things that makes us unique is that not only are we an outdoor retailer, but we also have a huge focus on working with youth and environmental stewardship,” says Pat Kennedy, Outreach Specialist at REI. You don’t have to look far to see how REI walks the talk. Through their national grant program, REI gave some $2.4 million to over 300 partners in 2010. Through REI’s “Peak Program,” REI staff travel to schools and scout groups to teach the kids Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. They also have a free “Family Adventure Program” which engages kids in the outdoors through a 28-page kidfriendly outdoor journal, and offers parents information on places to take their kids hiking or biking. Help us to thank REI with your support. Next time you’re in an REI store and you see someone in the green vest, tell them “thank you” from all of us at the CMC. △ Chris Case
Helping people enjoy the great outdoors to the fullest. Committed to community service and volunteerism. Educating future generations about environmental stewardship. Outdoor education classes and outings. A passion for the outdoors. Sounds like the Colorado Mountain Club, doesn’t it? Actually, these phrases are also at the core of the business philosophy of our partner, REI. Not surprisingly, the similarities in values of the CMC and REI are what make us such great partners. Recreational Equipment, Inc. got its start in 1938 in the Pacific Northwest. Like the CMC, REI offers programs that introduce youth to the outdoors, stewardship volunteer projects that give back to the local environment, adventure travel trips, and affordable classes to teach people how to responsibly use and enjoy the outdoors. REI offers about 300 clinics and programs per year, most of which are free—and that’s just in the Denver store! “A big part of what we’re trying to do at REI is get people involved in the outdoors, in an active sense, and in the stewardship sense,” says Gerhard Holtzendorf, District Outreach and Events Administrator for REI. “In that way I think our missions align completely. The CMC has been a natural fit from day one.” The Banff Mountain Film Festival is one of the finest examples of how our long partnership—which reaches back at least 15 years—comes to life. REI first hosted the festival over a decade ago in the newly-remodeled auditorium of the American Mountaineering Center in Golden. The event quickly outgrew the 350-seat capacity venue and, in 2011, filled over 3,000 seats over two nights at the Paramount Theatre in Denver. Not only does REI generously donate the proceeds of the event to support the CMC, they also turn it into a fantastic outreach opportunity for the club: each night we get to talk to the packed audience of over 1,500 people about becoming a member of the CMC.
▲In 2011, REI hosted the Banff Mountain Film Festival and filled over 3,000 seats over two nights at the Paramount Theatre in Denver. REI generously donates the proceeds of the event to support the CMC and also turns the evening into a fantastic outreach opportunity for the club: each night we get to speak to the packed audience of over 1,500 people about becoming a member of the CMC.
