The fund is to encourage young people to participate in outdoor activity
A gear company has launched a fund to encourage young people to participate in outdoor activity.
The North Face’s Explore Fund is inviting bids from non-profit community organisations for up to €2,500 (£2,184) of financial support.
The annual, pan-European scheme seeks to inspire and enable the next generation of explorers in activities that connect young people with nature, and provide education for individual and environmental health.
Eric Pansier, marketing director for The North Face Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “At The North Face, we believe in the physical, emotional and social benefits of a healthy, active outdoor lifestyle.
“A strong connection with the outdoors will lead to greater support and protection of our natural landscapes. The North Face Explore Fund is a natural extension to reach directly the young generation in whose hands lie the future of our environment.”
Applications can be made online at the Explore Fund website.
The North Face Explore Fund ambassador Simone Moro, Italian alpinist, father of two children, and part of the application review team, added: “As a child, I grew up playing and living outside, exploring near and far places in nature.
“I was always looking for a sense of freedom and joy at the sea, rivers, forest, cliffs, mountains, and canyons. These elements became the arena where I found what I was looking for: happiness.
“As a husband, father, and explorer, I try to motivate my family and the people around me to discover the world outside our cell phones, computers, rooms and buildings. We need not only a virtual life but also the possibility to feel real, authentic, sensorial sensations through nature and the planet.
“The North Face Explore Fund is an instrument to help children and young adults be in perfect balance with nature and discover the world around them.”
The North Face Explore Fund is a European initiative based on The North Face Planet Explore, set up in the USA in 2010.
Closing date for applications is 8 August and successful applicants will be informed by 12 September.
