Columbia/Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Belay Program Builds on Success of First Year, Announces 16 Award Winners for 2013

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance (Grassroots) and Columbia are proud to recognize dynamic local conservation projects and people who share our passion for the outdoors through the Columbia/GOA Belay Program. This program, established in 2012, expanded by over 50% this year growing from 10 to 16 grant recipients in 2013.

“Grassroots members and their local nonprofit partners demonstrated the power of grassroots partnership and conservation in 2012,” said Scott Welch, Global Corporate Relations Manager, Columbia Sportswear Company. “Based on the incredible performance of last year’s recipients and quality of this year’s proposals, we are proud to expand the program.”

Grassroots and Columbia share a mission of promoting long-term environmental good for the great outdoors on local, national and global levels. To demonstrate our commitment to the outdoors, as well as Columbia’s appreciation of Grassroots members’ current conservation efforts, we established the Columbia/Grassroots Belay Program. To belay is simply to secure and safeguard a climber by using rope. The Belay Program is designed to provide the basic necessities to secure and safeguard local projects improving our environment.

“Our members appreciate this expanded investment in local conservation by Columbia,” said Roanne Miller, President, Grassroots. “This support is critical for the success of local conservation projects, promotes community partnership and volunteerism, and enhances current Grassroots projects and partnerships.”

The following 16 organizations were selected by Grassroots members for support in the 2013 program year. The recipients are located in 15 different States (from Arizona to Virginia) and will receive $5,000 in the form of cash, product, or both from Columbia.

2013 Awards (Project name, grant recipient/Grassroots partner):

• Climbing Higher, City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation/Rock Creek Outfitters
• Every Child Outside: Outdoor Adventures for City Kids, Common Ground/Trailblazer
• G.O.A.T. Kids’ Racing Series, Team Revolution/Alpine Shop
• Habitat Restoration & Exotic Plant Control in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park/Appalachian Outfitters
• Homer Lake Natural Playscape and NatureScape Exploration/Stewardship Programs, Forest Preserve Friends Foundation, Champaign County/Champaign Surplus
• Inheriting the Atchafalaya Basin, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Inc./Pack and Paddle
• Kids in Kayaks, Port Royal Sound Foundation/Outside Hilton Head
• Lander Youth Climbing Initiative, International Climbers’ Festival/Wild Iris
• Maroon Bells Trail Reconstruction and Restoration Project, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative/Ute Mountaineer
• Marsh Ambassadors Program Center, Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Foundation/Wild River Outfitters
• NatureFEST, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation/Buffalo Peak Outfitters
• Project Outdoor C.A.R.E., Outdoor C.A.R.E. (Conservation and Recreation Education)/Pack Rat Outdoor Center
• Six Rivers Adventure League, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy/Backcountry North
• Supporting BLM’s River Trips for Rural Montana Schoolchildren, Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument/Base Camp
• Triangle Youth Conservation Corps, Conservation Trust for North Carolina/Great Outdoor Provision Co.
• Waldo Canyon Trail Improvement Project, Rocky Mountain Field Institute/Mountain Chalet

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance: Grassroots Outdoor Alliance unites independent outdoor retailers as a strong voice to protect and promote the experience of outdoor enthusiasts across the United States. We enable access to best business practices for our retail members, to the best equipment and apparel brands for the public, and to the backcountry for all.

Our retail members are eighty-plus stores working together to create a national network or promotion, access and information. We uphold the highest standards of financial stability and reliability in vendor relations. We are intimately involved in the development of local economies, communities, customer bases, events, education and initiatives related to the enhancement and enjoyment of outdoor experiences.

Our vendor partners offer the most reliable and evolutionary products available in outdoor gear and apparel. They are collaborative and open to participating in events, education and marketing based on regional and local engagement of sport and fashion. They are committed to sport, to outdoor recreation and to improving the lives and lived environments of loyal customers across the United States. To learn more, visit www.grassrootsoutdoors.com.

Columbia: Columbia, the flagship brand of Portland, Oregon-based Columbia Sportswear Company, has been creating innovative apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment for outdoor enthusiasts since 1938. Columbia has become a leading global brand by channeling the company’s passion for the outdoors, and an innovative spirit of “trying stuff,” into technologies and performance products that keep people warm, dry, cool and protected year-round. To learn more, please visit the company’s website at www.columbia.com.