Chaos Headwear — makers of high quality headwear in the U.S. and worldwide — will sponsor five inspiring programs that link youth to the outdoors in summer and winter programs. Giving back is at the heart of Chaos’s DNA: the Montreal-based company has sponsored SOS Outreach for over 13 years, Outdoor Outreach and Big City Mountaineers for 8 years, Chris Anthony Youth Initiative for 5 years, and Medicine Global for 9. New on board is Peak 7.
The total reach for all programs across the board each exceeds 69,000 participants, with interactive programs in climbing, surfing, hiking, camping, skiing, snowboarding and more. Each program creates group cohesiveness, responsibility, and care and respect for the environments. These students of the outdoors go on to finish high school, attend colleges at a higher rate than their peers, mentor others and give back.
SOS Outreach
Through the outdoors in snow and summer sports, SOS Outdoor’s evidence-based curriculum offers students ages 8-18 up to 10 years of outdoor experiential learning coupled with character development, values-based leadership training, and community service. SOS has responded to leading research that proves that high quality out-of-school programs like SOS that provide consistency and support can be vital to keeping youth on a positive and healthy path to adulthood. As outlined by SOS Outreach, the program has become is a multi-state organization, “that empowers the most at-risk youth to access recreation and resources to achieve their optimal potential – in education and in life – through equal parts leadership development, positive adult mentorship, and responsible outdoor adventure.” Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Eagle County, Colorado, SOS now serves at-risk youth across five full time offices in Colorado, as well as Lake Tahoe, NV, and Seattle, WA, with part time offices in Steamboat Springs, CO, Durango, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, Portland, OR, and Detroit, MI. Recognized by Gatorade as one of the most influential sports-based youth development nonprofit organizations in the country through the For the Love of Sports campaign last fall, SOS makes outdoor recreation a reality for 5,000 underserved youth annually. Chaos has been a supporter of SOS for over 10 years.
Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project
The Mission of the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project is to improve quality of life through introducing youth to educational enrichment opportunities in arts, athletics and academics as well as providing financial support where needed. They do this through bridging students to an experience beyond the classroom or bringing mentors into the classroom. The Youth Initiative Project with the Glide Project builds and provides educational tools that can be used to enhance the classroom experience. The Glide Project provides age appropriate snow science and avalanche education for youth balanced with personal responsibility, teamwork and respect for the mountain environment. Since September 2017 the programs of the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project have reached 3,892 students. This takes us over 45,000 students since the its inception as a non-profit in 2013. The history of the “school visits” goes back 20 years to a relationship Chris Anthony had first with Colorado Ski Country USA and later with Vail Resorts. The programs enabled Chris to reach over 40,000 students over a 16-year span. In 2013, Chris Anthony partnered with the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center to create the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project (CYIP) and operate as a 501(c)3. Since that time, CYIP has engaged with more than 40,000 students through school visits, appearances and experiential programs outside the classroom. In total, over 80,000 students have been served.
Big City Mountaineers
Big City Mountaineers provides free – fully outfitted and professionally led – camping, backpacking and paddling experiences for under-resourced youth. Since 1990, BCM has tailored their unique wilderness experiences to foster lasting positive change in the lives of their students. BCM programming helps under-resourced youth overcome challenges they may be experiencing back home and supports a deeper connection to the outdoors through experiential learning. They focus on character development and the inspirational power of the outdoors. BCM’s trips give kids the place and space they need to build self-confidence, empathy, self-efficacy, resilience, and a better awareness of their own personal strengths. Over the past 27 years, we have served over 8,000 kids, conducted nearly 800 expeditions, organized over 5,000 volunteers, led over 100 overnight camps, and provided nearly 42,000 nights under the stars for kids that would not have had the opportunity without BCM.
Outdoor Outreach
Outdoor Outreach is a San Diego based non-profit with a mission to connect youth to the transformative power of the outdoors. Through adventure sports like surfing and snowboarding, Outdoor Outreach provides opportunities for youth from low-income communities to access the outdoors, to challenge themselves, to connect with supportive peers and mentors, and to lead and inspire others. In doing so, we’re empowering each young person to be a force for change in their own lives and their communities. Each year, we provide more than 450 outdoor recreation programs, as well as ongoing, nature-based job training and employment programs for young adults. In fact, 55% of our instructors are former participants of the program. In total, we help more than 1,700 individual youth each year create a narrative of resilience in the face of challenges, and build confidence in their power to make a difference.
Medicines Global
Medicines Global (501c3), is dedicated to inspire all adventure travelers to give back to the places they visit by delivering basic first aid supplies to medical centers and remote community health posts. Medicines Global Outdoor Youth Ambassador programs ‘NEXT GENERATION WILDERNESS’ and ‘Get Kids Moving’ create opportunities for inner city youth to get out of the city and into the wilderness. Medicines Global seeks to instill the spirit of environmental activism and humanitarian work in all adventure travelers and urban youth. Since 1999, twenty Medicines Global expeditions have taken medical supplies to Nepal, Mongolia, Russia, Siberia, Tibet, Laos, Cambodia, India, Thailand, Ecuador, Guatemala, Sri Lanka and El Salvador, providing state-run hospitals and health posts with over $4 million in medical equipment, antibiotics and basic first aid supplies. Medicines Global Outdoor Youth Ambassador (MGOYA) programs have provided more than 1,500 urban high school students with outdoor adventures to Joshua Tree National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Death Valley National Park, and Yosemite National Park where the youth surf, stand up paddle board, kayak, hike, rock climb and camp.
Peak 7 Adventures
Peak 7 Adventures serves around 4,000 young people a year. Since 2006, they’ve served over 28,000 participants. Impact: Peak 7’s challenging and meaningful outdoor trips give young people the chance to discover their massive inner potential, and to develop key skills like courage, grit, and a renewed sense of identity. Reese, a sixteen-year-old BAC female participant from last year, remarked, “Peak 7 taught me how to be more thoughtful and aware of other people’s feelings and needs. I’m thankful for Peak 7 because they changed my view of the world and my plans for the future. I made amazing real friends and had life changing experiences.” Regions supported include Western and Eastern Washington, and Central Oregon. “Goals for next season: We have several ambitious goals for 2018. A few specific objectives are to grow the number of youth reached in our Seattle location. We’d like to increase overnight adventures out of Seattle, expand into new climbing locations in central Washington, and offer Stand-up Paddle boarding trips in Olympic National Park. This will be our third year running our 50+ day outdoor expedition leadership program called the Bower Adventure Course, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!”
Mission statement: Peak 7 exists to provide a first-rate outdoor adventure experience that engages youth spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally to help them realize a greater potential.
Chaos and CTR Headwear
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, with global offices in the USA, Europe and Asia, the Chaos and CTR headwear brands, have evolved into a leading collection of fashion and cold-weather technical headwear and accessories. The brand is sold throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For over sixty years, Do-Gree Fashions Ltd., the parent company of Chaos & CTR Headwear, has ensured that all their customers’ needs have been serviced by the most comprehensive program of fashion and performance winter and summer headwear to be found globally.