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P.O. Box 347171
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We are a growing NETWORK of local organizations using training and outdoor gear libraries to help connect kids to the outdoors across America. 

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Lending some Adventure

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Gear libraries are making it easier for more kids to get outdoors

Article, written by Alison Torres Burtka, appears in Sierra Magazine- online (July 3, 2017) 

ANDREW PRINGLE OF THE WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION POSES IN A SEATTLE GEAR LIBRARY SPACE THAT THE ORGANIZATION RECENTLY OUTGREW, DUE TO DEMAND. (PHOTO COURTESY OF OUTDOORS EMPOWERED NETWORK.)

ANDREW PRINGLE OF THE WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION POSES IN A SEATTLE GEAR LIBRARY SPACE THAT THE ORGANIZATION RECENTLY OUTGREW, DUE TO DEMAND. (PHOTO COURTESY OF OUTDOORS EMPOWERED NETWORK.)

Kids who spend  time in wild nature reap all kinds of benefits, including improved physical and mental health, lower stress, and higher confidence. Yet many kids and their families have never camped nor hiked. The biggest  barrier to getting in the woods? The significant cost of outdoor gear. Now, “gear libraries” across the United States are addressing this challenge by enabling many organizations serving youths to use borrowed gear—for free.  Read the full article.