MER is proud to support our Nonprofit of the Month for August: Blackpackers.
Blackpackers was started in 2019 with a two-fold mission to create economic equity in outdoor recreation:
- To provide gear, outdoor excursions and outdoor education for free or at subsidized cost.
- To connect participants with volunteer opportunities, internships, jobs, and post-secondary education resources to create a pipeline from outdoor recreation to outdoor industry careers.
As a single mother, Patricia, founder of Blackpackers, “struggled with the means and knowledge to take her young son on outdoor adventures. Patricia saved up money working weeks of overtime as an EMT to buy her initial set of backpacking/gear and took herself on her first overnight backpacking trip–alone, and in a snowstorm. Mostly self-taught, she hopes to make it easier for families to access the outdoors by making the initial investment for them.”
Please join us in supporting this worthy cause by visiting our $5 shelf in store during August.
To learn more about Blackpackers and how you can get involved, please visit: https://www.blackpackers.org/.