Outdoor Prolink’s 2021 Nonprofit Partner Organizations

August 16, 2021

Selected with the goal of preserving and protecting wild places, Outdoor Prolink will continue to support Protect Our Winters, the Conservation Alliance, and Pride Pads Africa.

Outdoor Prolink, the pro purchase program created for outdoor professionals at the heart of the industry, announces their partner organizations for this year. The three organizations that Outdoor Prolink will support with donations throughout the year include Protect Our Winters, the Conservation Alliance, and PridePads Africa.

Outdoor Prolink believes the world is a better place when people go outside. By outfitting stewards of the great outdoors with high quality, affordable gear, it enables them to protect and promote the wild places we love. Outdoor Prolink finished off the 2020 calendar year with a donation of $77,508 given to their 2020 nonprofit partners, which included all three of the organizations that they will continue to support in 2021.

Protect Our Winters, an organization dedicated to helping passionate outdoor athletes, scientists, and creatives protect places and lifestyles they love from climate change, is in full alignment with Outdoor Prolink’s goals and is one of their most long-standing partners.

“To address the scale of the climate crisis on the timeline we have, we need more advocates,” said Torrey Udall, Director of Development and Operations at Protect Our Winters. “Who better to act on climate than the ‘Outdoor State’ represented by Outdoor Prolink’s customers? As Dr. Martha Erickson describes it, ‘Learning about climate change by studying it is one thing. But to come to know and love the natural world first-hand gives you a different kind of motive for preserving it.’ Outdoor Prolink is in the business of helping people fall in love with the outdoors and, with their give-back program, helping POW turn this enthusiasm into advocacy and solutions. Being chosen as a beneficiary alongside this group of leading and impactful organizations is a responsibility we take to heart (and to our work) every day.”

Another organization that Outdoor Prolink will continue to support this year is the Conservation Alliance, whose mission is to harness the collective power of business and outdoor communities to fund and advocate for the protection of North America’s wild places. Since its inception in 1989, the Conservation Alliance has worked with its member organizations to protect 73 million acres and 3,576 river miles, remove or halt 36 dams, purchase 18 climbing areas, and designate five marine reserves. Outdoor Prolink has partnered with Conservation Alliance since mid-2019.

“As a member of The Conservation Alliance, Outdoor Prolink is one of 250 businesses who support our efforts to fund and advocate for the protection of North America’s wild places. In addition to their membership dues, Outdoor Prolink gives customers an opportunity to add a donation to their purchase, which not only raises additional funds for our work, but heightens our name recognition within an influential group of outdoor industry professionals,” said Conor McElyea, Program Manager at the Conservation Alliance.

Finally, an organization near and dear to Outdoor Prolink’s founder, Gareth Richard’s heart, PridePads Africa is an organization his wife Dr. Mary Shackelton co-founded in 2017 that produces biodegradable, earth-friendly, and affordable sanitary pads for girls and women in rural Cameroon. The pads are produced locally by and for women, creating livelihood empowerment and entrepreneurial economic opportunities for Cameroonian girls and women.

PridePads also provides menstrual health education, sensitization, and de-stigmatization campaigns surrounding menstruation. Research suggests that prioritizing girl’s education and providing them with opportunities can strengthen climate change solutions, another important reason the Outdoor Prolink team chooses to fund this organization year after year.

“Women who are valued make the difference between a broken community and a thriving one. We believe that every girl, no matter where she lives, deserves the opportunity to embrace being a woman and contribute in meaningful ways to her community,” said Dr. Shackelton. “When girls receive our biodegradable pads, they are able to stay in school and that gives them choices. They can choose to work. They can choose to marry. With equal education, girls can thrive.”

Outdoor Prolink’s nonprofit partners will benefit from donations from Outdoor Prolink professionals throughout the year. Specifically, on Giving Tuesday, Outdoor Prolink professionals are required to make a minimum $1 donation with every purchase to one of these select organizations, and Outdoor Prolink will match the total donations. To learn more about Outdoor Prolink, please visit: https://outdoorprolink.com/

About Outdoor Prolink

Founded in 2004, Outdoor Prolink acts as the facilitator of trust to connect qualified outdoor professionals with the best outdoor brands. Utilizing a strict vetting process, Outdoor Prolink strives to be the most authentic and responsible pro purchase program in the industry. Through the platform, brands engage trusted outdoor professionals and utilize their influence to drive retail sales growth. Qualified outdoor professionals earn privileged discounts on the outdoor gear they rely on for their work, in order to further the pursuit of outdoor recreation for everyone.

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Media Contact:

Alexa McRoberts

Verde Brand Communications

alexa@verdepr.com

717-808-9653