GoLite Footwear Announces Partnership with GECKO Organization
Non-profit aims to help kids experience nature in a meaningful way
Official Announcement to be made at OR Show, Jan 20, 2pm, Booth #30135W
January 4, 2011, Newmarket, NH – GoLite Footwear will be partnering with GECKO 501(c)(3) to “Give Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors” in 2011. Through donations and fund raising events, GoLite Footwear and GECKO will help children from all walks of life experience the outdoors by providing scholarships to the nation’s leading outdoor education providers.
Many recent studies have shown that our children are suffering from nature deficit disorder. Participation in outdoor activities among the nation’s youth has been on the decline, and the picture isn’t improving. The OIA’s Special Report on Youth indicates that less than 60% of American youths between the ages of 6-24 participate in outdoor recreation. This negative trend poses a threat to our environment as well as our industry. GoLite Footwear and GECKO will be partnering together to make the outdoors accessible to young people through a number of programs in 2011.
• GoLite Footwear will donate $2 for every pair of shoes with their Sticky Gecko sole shipped to participating retailers in 2011. Specific products include the new Tara Lite trail runner and a collection of performance sandals for men and women as well as several new styles from the Fall ’11 collection.
• The “GoLite Gecko Trail Series” presented by Trail Runner Magazine will be held in 6 markets across the US. Participants may purchase a pair of sandals with the Sticky Gecko sole at a special introductory price, and GoLite Footwear will donate an additional $5 per pair.
• GECKO will organize a total of seven trail running and mountain biking events throughout the year, which serve as their main source of fundraising. GoLite Footwear will be a primary sponsor of these events and co-promote through social media and their website.
By providing scholarships to organizations like NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), HMI (High-Mountain Institute) and Wild Pagosa, GoLite Footwear and GECKO will enable youth to reconnect with the outdoors through sensory exploration and hands-on experiences. One of our main objectives is to foster a deep respect and appreciation for the natural world. During 2009, its first year, GECKO provided $4K in scholarships to the High Mountain Institute. Last year that number grew to $15K. The goal in 2011 is to raise more than $25K to send children to leadership programs, where they will learn and feed their passion for the outdoors. These experiences will create the outdoor leaders of the future who will encourage and inspire their peers to become stewards of the earth.
Links
GoLite Footwear website:
http://www.golite-footwear.com GECKO website:
http://www.joingecko.org Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/GoLite-Footwear/191592820873 Twitter:
http://twitter.com/GoLiteShoes About GoLite Footwear
GoLite Footwear is committed to meeting the unique needs of those who live to be in the outdoors by delivering the ultimate in off road performance and durability. Our Soft Against the Ground platform used in our revolutionary trail running shoes has been extended to our complete line of fast packing, light hiking, and technical travel shoes that are impossibly stable, improbably light and incredibly comfortable.
Our brand is rooted in a passion for the outdoors and expertise in shoemaking, bringing you the very best design and technical innovation in outdoor performance footwear. GoLite Footwear is distributed throughout the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
GoLite Footwear is a division of New England Footwear, with our corporate headquarters housed in a former shoe mill in Newmarket, New Hampshire. For information on the full line of GoLite Footwear, please contact Vivian Lefebvre at 877-610-8870 or
vlefebvre@newenglandfootwear.com About GECKO 501(c)(3)
GECKO evolved from outdoor adventures experienced by endurance runner, Morgan Murri. Inspired by the growth and transformation he witnessed in his daughter after her participation in NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), Morgan sought an opportunity to give back to the youth of today but wasn’t sure where to start. After reading Last Child in the Woods; Saving our children from Nature Deficit disorder by Richard Louv his mission became clear. “Give Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors.”
Through sponsorships, donations and outdoor event promotions and races GECKO is providing the future stewards of our planet scholarships and motivation to get “unplugged, off the couch and outside!”
GECKO headquarters deep in the San Juan Mountains in Pagosa Springs Colorado. For information on getting involved, racing in one of our events or recommending a student for scholarship, please contact Morgan Murri at 303-475-6053 or
Morgan@joingecko.org 
