Partner Spotlight: Outdoor Outreach

August 13, 2015 By Adam,

Here at Digital Operative, living an active outdoor lifestyle is very important to us. Therefore, when we got the chance to partner with Outdoor Outreach - a nonprofit dedicated to connecting underserved youth to the transformative power of the outdoors - we jumped at the opportunity! This summer Outdoor Outreach has gone above and beyond, leading several excursions for San Diego youth, ranging from surfing, rock climbing, snorkeling, and mountain biking. Through these outdoor adventures, kids and teens accumulate a sense of achievement, which increases their self-confidence and further enables them to see new possibilities for their lives. However, many of these adventures would not have been possible without the help of some of our favorite outdoor brands.

In June, Outdoor Outreach received an in-kind donation of a screen house and two loungers from Lightspeed Outdoors as well as new medical kits and supplies from Adventure Medical Kits. In July, Body Glove Wetsuits kindly donated 10 new wetsuits, which were especially helpful during all of Outdoor Outreach’s summer surfing trips. Optrix also donated iPhone 4 and 5 waterproof phone cases - perfect for those surfing, snorkeling, and kayaking trips held during the summer. Outdoor Outreach is hoping to get donations of old iPhones from friendly donors so that the kids and teens can use them to take photos on their outdoor excursions.

We recently reached out to Sameer, a participant in Outdoor Outreach’s Leadership Program, to ask how his experience with Outdoor Outreach has impacted him: “Outdoor Outreach gives teens the chance to experience nature, and realize all the cool outdoor places that are right in our backyards. However, I think the underlying affect OO has is that it opens our eyes to all the possibilities in life. We meet new people, and get to try so many interesting things - things we never even thought of. It makes us realize that we can have new experiences, and pursue our own path.” As Sameer explained, connecting youth with the outdoors opens so many doors and we love seeing the brands we love getting involved to transform these kids’ lives!

For those individuals or companies looking to get involved, Outdoor Outreach will be the beneficiary of several upcoming events in the San Diego area. Puzzle Pursuit is an amazing race-style team event being held on Saturday, September 19th in Old Town. 100% of the sales benefit the Outdoor Outreach programs described above. For more information about volunteering, events, or donations, visit Outdoor Outreach’s website to learn more about their programs.