Fuelled by a purpose to inspire and enable everyone to get active outside, Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) continues to dedicate close to $1m funds annually to its Outdoor Impact Program, adding to the $48M given to outdoor causes since its inception in 1987.
This Giving Tuesday, thanks to the support of its members and the outdoor community, MEC is celebrating increased outreach, deeper community impact, and a local community emphasis on its Outdoor Impact partners and programs.
Plus, MEC is bringing back Sock Week, a multiyear partnership with Smartwool where shoppers can get quality socks and give to a great cause at the same time. From November 21 through Giving Tuesday on November 29, for every pair of Smartwool socks sold online and in store, MEC and Smartwool are donating $2 to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, up to $15,000. CPAWS, Canada’s only charity dedicated to the protection of public land, freshwater and ocean, has been one of MEC’s key partners since 1988. The brand supports campaigns like its We Can’t Wait movement to help protect 30% of land and ocean in Canada by 2030.
“From Coop to Company, Outdoor Impact has remained at the heart of MEC and we’re always challenging ourselves to do more,” said Michele Guimond, VP Marketing at MEC. “This year, we’ve evolved our programming by honouring longstanding partnerships like CPAWS and POW (Protect Our Winters) Canada and building new relationships with organizations like Archipel Research. We also support our staff in volunteering and participating in these causes, which is integral to our internal culture. Next year, we’re seeking to make even bigger strides as we further our mission to increase equity in the outdoors.”
Highlights from 2022 include:
MEC partnered with Archipel Research, an Indigenous-owned and women-led organization, to renew our commitments and further our own journey towards Truth and Reconciliation. As we continue to support partnerships and organizations focused on reconciliation in the outdoors, we donated $40,000 of gear and technical outdoor clothing to four Indigenous communities across the country. This gear will support land- and water-based programming.
Building communities that love the outdoors through events is core to MEC. This year, we brought back in store experiences like the Women’s Empowerment Festival, Tommy Caldwell’s sold-out presentation and the MEC x POW Season Opener, which all included a big give back component. Through these, we’ve been able to support national and local partners such as Protect Our Winters Canada, Hike MTL, B.I.G. initiative, Climbers’ Access Society of BC, Belay All, and BC Adventure Smart, to name a few.
To increase equity in the outdoors, MEC launched Queer Gear Kits, a new annual grant to support LGBTQ2S+ community groups getting more folks outside. Through this grant, MEC will be donating a total of $17,000 in grants and outdoor gear to support LGBTQ2S+ led and serving organizations across the country.
Learn more about MEC’s 2022 Outdoor Impact program and partners here.
