Giving Back
For 40 years, Outside has focused on giving back to the community that supports its growth. Some of these initiatives include:
The Outside Foundation
Outside’s primary give back is through an independent 501©3 non-profit, which is a beneficiary of Outside funds, resources and cooperative promotional initiatives. The mission of the Outside Foundation is to get kids outside and protect and preserve the local environment. The Foundation executes this mission by focusing on Kids in Kayaks – a program that aims to get every middle school student in Beaufort County out kayaking, Oyster Recycling and Reef Building and waterway clean-ups.
The Wooden Nickel Program
At the Outside Flagship store in Shelter Cove Plaza, customers can refuse a bag with their purchase and instead receive a wooden nickel. The nickel can then be donated to any one of 3 currently selected charities. The charities are switched out and receive their contributions every six months.
Recycle Your Jacket
To mark the close of the winter season, Outside hosts its annual Recycle Your Jacket for Deep Well program each January. Now in its 29th year, the program offers customers the opportunity to donate their old jackets, coats and sweaters and, as a thank you, receive up to 50% off of a new one. In 2019, 300 jackets were donated to the Deep Well Project, bringing the lifetime contributions of the programs to over 6,000 jackets.
Shop for Good Benefit for Volunteers in Medicine
Each December, Outside hosts a festive in-store event featuring food, music, and great holiday gift shopping. Twenty percent of everything purchased during the event is donated directly to Volunteers in Medicine, along with proceeds from a raffle for attendees. The 2020 Shop for Good event will take place on December 3 in partnership with Barbour clothing.
Ladies Night
As a precursor to Mother’s Day and a celebration of women, Outside hosts the Ladies Night Benefit for Hopeful Horizons each year on the Thursday before Mothers Day. Featuring food, music, a raffle, prizes and shopping – 20% of sales on this evening go directly to Hopeful Horizons. This event will take place on May 7, 2020.
Special Olympics
Outside kayak instructors coach and develop the Division 8 kayaking team for the Special Olympics.