Finding Your Purpose at the End of A Trail
A trip outside is great for your health, your mood, and your mind. In fact, studies suggest that spending time outdoors has a positive impact on your mood and self-confidence, and can even boost creativity. But did you know you can enjoy it and preserve it at the exact same time?
The outdoors has always been a way of life for me — for fun, for work. My love for it really stems from my parents’ being very active. A lot of my fondest memories were either from hiking or camping at a really young age. On my days off, you’ll find me hiking the dozens of trails that crisscross the hills and mountains just outside of my home.
At work, you’ll find me telling my coworkers and REI members about it. I’m a store manager for REI at the new Woodland Hills, California, store. I’ve worked for the co-op for 14 years.
As you may have heard by now, REI recently announced it’s closing all of its stores across the United States on Black Friday. Instead, REI wants its members and all other shoppers to #OptOutside — to spend the day in the great outdoors doing anything that makes them happy.
Why would a major retailer decide to shutter its doors on one of the busiest shopping days of the year? The official answer is because of our core values: authenticity, quality, service, respect, integrity, and balance. I call it common sense, an extension of Thanksgiving, which is often overshadowed by the hectic nature of Black Friday.
It’s an extension of the spirit of Thanksgiving, giving families a reason to spend quality time together, giving them a reason to interact. REI is building on that framework that ties into a plan to spend that quality time together…outside.
I’m inviting you to go a step further and not only #OptOutside but also connect with an organization that supports the outdoors.
Recently, I had the opportunity to work with the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, a local nonprofit that maintains and expands accessibility of the Backbone Trail. As part of the profits shared with partner organizations, REI awarded the Santa Monica Mountains Fund more than $40,000 in grants — funding that goes directly toward maintaining and preserving our outdoor recreational areas. The Woodland Hills REI collaborated with the organization to do a storewide trail project as part of its new-hire orientation.
I’ve also recently been introduced to TreePeople, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a greener Los Angeles. A $5,000 grant will help it work to restore inner-city areas and educate the public on water conservation and land management, today incredibly relevant to the drought-stricken area. TreePeople will also start teaching some of its classes and clinics in the Woodland Hills store itself.
REI was founded back in 1938 by a group of mountaineers who were really looking for a good deal on an ice axe. They wanted to share the profits with its member base. Seventy-seven years later, REI is the nation’s largest consumer co-op. Since 1956, REI has donated more than $50 million to outdoor organizations.
My love of the outdoors has only grown as a result of my experience with some of those groups. It’s a priority for me to invest time with them, but my most important mission is to impart a passion for the outdoors upon my three young children. I try to get them to be active outdoors every day I’m off. It’s either at the local park just playing at the playground with other kids or trying to get out to either the beach or a local trail.
But there’s also another motive. My children are going to be the future generation that protects the outdoors and brings that awareness toward conserving our outdoor recreational areas to life. If they’ve got that shared love and passion for everything outdoors, then they’ll bring that same dedication to preserving our outdoor spaces for generations to come.
