Member Resource Guide - Outdoor Industry Association

OIF UPDATE
GETTING YOUTH ACTIVE IS A PRIME
DIRECTIVE OF THE FOUNDATION.
O
Outdoor Industry Foundation
utdoor Industry Foundation is bringing together outdoor
businesses, youth development organizations and other
partners to develop sustainable outreach programs that get youth
active. And there are a number of ways you can get involved! Start
by participating in one or more of the following opportunities to
help promote the active outdoor lifestyle.
Great American Backyard Campout: Join the fun!
To introduce and remind people about the joys of camping, OIF
has teamed up with National Wildlife Federation to promote the
annual Great American Backyard Campout on June 23, 2007.
On this day, tens of thousands of Americans will gather in their
backyards to share the thrill of camping outdoors with their family
and friends. This event is a way for every business in the outdoor
community to promote an active
outdoor lifestyle and introduce new
participants to outdoor recreation.
You won’t want to miss this
opportunity to promote camping
and other gateway activities in your
community. It’s easy to get involved:
• Add this event to your marketing
calendar.
• Request your backyard campout
promotional packet from OIF.
• Sign up to be a preferred retailer or manufacturer.
• Help new and loyal customers get ready for their Backyard Campout.
• Retailers—take advantage of your co-op dollars to participate!
“National initiatives like the Great American Backyard Campout
provide opportunities for the entire outdoor community to band
together to encourage youth to get out and get active,” says Michelle
Barnes, vice president of OIF.
More than 40,000 people from every state took part in the 2006
campout event. For more information about the Great American
Backyard Campout and on how you can become a preferred business,
visit www.outdoorindustryfoundation.org/campout. To sign up to be
a part of the celebration, go to www.backyardcampout.com
Teens Outside!: Coming to a Community Near You?
Twenty communities across the United States will host OIF’s “Teens
Outside!” program in 2007 based on the winning Asheville Teens
Outside! model. One of these communities could be yours! OIF
will be looking to engage local outdoor businesses in each of the 20
new programs. “We have a winning model in Asheville Teens
Outside!,” Ali Steimke, program manager for OIF, says. “This is a
perfect example of a self-sustaining, replicable program that brought
18 ★ 2007 OIA DIRECTORY
Great American Backyard
Campout coming to your
neighborhood this summer!
together complimentary partners to create a successful outcome.”
In the spring of 2006, OIF launched Asheville Teens Outside! in
partnership with the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department
and the University of North Carolina (UNC) Asheville Outdoors.
Local businesses like Diamond Brand Outdoors and Liberty Bicycles
helped make the program possible by donating gear and volunteering
employee time to help administer the program. Asheville Teens
Outside! was such a success and the infrastructure so sound, that
Teens Outside! is now a core Asheville Parks and Recreation program.
Teens Outside! makes the pivotal connection between mentors
and teenagers over a sustained period of time and is the product of
strategic partnerships. OIF will be rolling-out Teens Outside! in the
spring and summer of 2007. OIF is working with the National Recreation
and Parks Association to make this happen in key locations.
Stay tuned to learn if Teens Outside! will be coming to a
community near you or contact OIF to get involved.
Outdoor Idols: A New Generation of Outdoor Heroes
OIF’s Outdoor Idols campaign, launched in the summer of 2006, is
a celebration of exceptional youth athletes that are pushing the
threshold of outdoor sports and inspiring youth to get active. The
campaign is designed to engage the outdoor industry in raising the
profile of young outdoor athletes who are leading by example. Virtually
all industries and sports have their heroes—think Tony Hawk and
Kelly Slater—and Outdoor Idols is a means for the outdoor
community to reach the teen market.
“Outdoor Idols meshes the inspiration of the outdoor world with the
youth culture’s eagerness for celebrities,” says Michelle Barnes, VP of
Outdoor Industry Foundation. “Let’s face it...today’s dreamers are
tomorrow’s heroes. And with Outdoor Idols, we hope to fuel those
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