Since 2010, we’ve been creating access and driving equity in the outdoors by funding hundreds of organisations
around two main themes: Enabling Exploration and Loving Wild Places.
The communities making
exploration possible
In May, The North Face pledged €1 million to support organisations impacted by COVID-19.
Here are the first of those stories.
URBAN UPRISING | UNITED KINGDOM
URBAN UPRISING
UNITED KINGDOM
Enabling disadvantaged young people to achieve their goals and improve their wellbeing through climbing
“We use rock climbing as a tool to develop life skills – things like building confidence, building resilience and, more obviously, physical health which is tied to mental health. One of the most debilitating things in life is this fear of failure; it’s a barrier to so many things. Climbing is all about failure. Here you’re failing more than you’re succeeding so it teaches you how to deal with that failure, which is an important part of long-term resilience.”
Ben Campbell
Programme Manager at Urban Uprising
SUNDERLAND WALL | UNITED KINGDOM
SUNDERLAND WALL
UNITED KINGDOM
Supporting healthy, active lifestyles through a range of climbing styles and educational programmes to people of all abilities and backgrounds.
“We believe exercise, active and healthy lifestyles are massively important, improving quality of life and mental wellbeing. With climbing specifically, you learn new things about yourself and improve in ways you didn’t realise you could, all while socialising, meeting new people and sharing new experiences. We’ve created new friendship groups, helped people overcome their biggest fears and we’ve brought people through the dark times in their life, too.”
Ashleigh Loughlin
Senior instructor at Sunderland Wall
ENABLING EXPLORATION
Exploration is within everyone, but some face more barriers than others. By removing obstacles and empowering people, we change the way we think about the outdoors, ourselves and our place on the planet. We open ourselves to the wide range of cultures and experiences that connect us.
LOVING WILD PLACES
For over 50 years, we’ve worked to protect wild places and create connections to outdoor playgrounds, both on mountaintops and in city parks. There is incredible value in the physical and mental benefits of exploring the outdoors, and we want that opportunity to be available for everyone, now and into the future.