13 Ways to Make Hiking Better This Giving Tuesday
Because no matter what gear you have, the outdoors are the best gift.
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It’s Giving Tuesday, that annual post-Thanksgiving day dedicated to supporting charities and other causes that make the world a better place. We polled BACKPACKER’s editors for their recommendations. Here are 13 non-profits doing good work in the outdoors.
Support Your Long Trails
You may never thru-hike the Triple Crown, but we’re willing to bet you’ve spent a day (or a few) enjoying the scenery on America’s most famous trails. Give back by supporting the non-profits in charge of maintaining and promoting them: The Pacific Crest Trail Association, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and Continental Divide Trail Coalition.
Keep Climbing Areas Open
Climbers depend on access to rock for their sport, and the Access Fund is dedicated to making sure that they can get it. From buying up threatened crags to advocating for climbers on Capitol Hill, they’re the undisputed experts in keeping the rock free.
Give Kids Access to Clean Water
On the trail, you depend on your filter to keep you hydrated and healthy, but around the world, one in nine people lacks access to clean water. The MSR Impact Project and the Lifestraw Safe Water Fund are working to change that using adapted versions of the same technology you use on the trail.
Leave it How You Found It
If you’re a backpacker, Leave No Trace needs no introduction. Your donation goes toward training hikers to tread lighter and restoring endangered areas in the backcountry. Bonus: Klean Kanteen is matching all donations dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000 through the end of the month.
Keep the Wilderness Wild
How’s this for a deal: Give to The Wilderness Society today, and the non-profit’s partners will match 5 times your donation. The money goes towards advocating for more wilderness-friendly laws and fighting resource extraction and development in the backcountry.
Give the Gift of the Wilderness
Too often, we take our easy access to the backcountry for granted. Give that experience to a kid by donating to Big City Mountaineers, which takes children from urban areas who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity on life-changing outdoor trips.
Work Towards a More Inclusive Outdoor Culture
With a mission of engaging Latinx hikers, bikers, and campers and providing opportunities for aspiring leaders to develop their skills, Latino Outdoors works to support a group that’s been historically underrepresented in conservation and outdoor recreation.
Help Rebuild
When disasters like the 2015 Nepal earthquake strike, All Hands and Hearts shows up. The charity sends experienced volunteers and professionals to aid in both short- and long-term recovery and rebuilding.
Give Someone a Hearth for Their Home
Still doing your holiday shopping? Today, BioLite is putting 100% of its sales towards bringing power to off-grid households in east Africa. Further north, the long-running Himalayan Stove Project works to bring cookstoves to families in Nepal so they won’t have to cook over open fires indoors; $150 is enough to send one of their stoves into the field.
