REI Gear Bank

REI's Gear Bank was developed to support youth-focused nonprofit organizations that lack the resources to outfit young people for outdoor adventures. The Gear Bank program overcomes this barrier by loaning high quality gear and equipment free of charge. With access to essentials such as tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, rain gear, camping stoves and cook sets, nonprofits can introduce young people to the joys and benefits of memorable outdoor experiences. To date, the program has given more than 13,400 youth access to the equipment they need to get outside and enjoy nature.

Highlights

In 2008 REI's Gear Bank expanded from five to six cities, including:

• Atlanta, GA (added in 2008)

• Bloomington, MN

• Denver, CO

• Los Angeles, CA

• San Francisco, CA

• Seattle, WA

We're proud of Gear Bank's track record helping young people experience their first hiking or camping trip. In 2008 we helped 2,636 young adventurers experience the outdoors – down slightly from 2007. In select markets where we have existing relationships with nonprofits that help get children outdoors, we also provided rental gear free of charge, when available.

Challenges

We expanded into Atlanta at the end of 2008, which did not significantly increase our Gear Bank participation. Further, the number of young people who took advantage of REI's Gear Bank program decreased in 2008. One significant reason is that groups are utilizing provided gear for longer periods of time, such as one week versus a weekend, thus making equipment less available to others.

Looking Ahead

In 2009 REI will open an additional Gear Bank in San Diego. Both the San Diego and Atlanta Gear Banks align with our efforts to connect with and support outdoor recreation experiences in ethnically diverse communities, as part of our Diversity and Inclusion initiative. We look forward to growing the program in order to help even more young people overcome a basic barrier to getting outside: lack of gear.