People often ask us why we chose to create a donation program. After all, we already offer charitable activities, like our bike build and school donation. For us, setting it up was a no-brainer, but defining our “why” is a bit trickier.
We both began our careers in the non-profit arena, decades ago, where we spent many hours taking children and youth into outdoor environments, using this unique learning lab to teach life skills like communication, leadership, and trust. While those days seem like a lifetime ago, it was a wonderful way to combine our love for the outdoors with our passion for engaging and teaching others.
While our careers shifted toward the corporate arena years ago, our passion for adventure and the outdoors remains as strong as ever, as our travels have allowed us to see some of the world’s most beautiful, unique, and fragile environments. However, with travel there come many eye-opening experiences, and not all of them show the beauty of the world. Our visits to other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East are a stark reminder that we have a long way to go.
As we developed our business and our careers, it became clear that there are causes that we are passionate about, that fall outside of the scope of what we can do as facilitators and trainers. We wanted to do something that would help the people and the natural environments of the places that we have had the privilege to visit. And so this initiative was born.
There is no common theme or tie to our network of beneficiary partners, other than the fact that they struck us somehow. Whether the effort is to support orphans in a developing country, preserve a glacier that we have hiked to, or provide educational support for kids right in our backyard, each beneficiary partner holds a special place in our hearts.
We know that we can’t do it all ourselves, but we like to think that each program that we do does a little something for others.
Let us know if there are any great organizations that you support, or contact us if you want to become part of the effort!
