L.L.Bean donates $1m to charity
17/04/2012
The L.L.Bean Healthy Hometowns Program expands upon the winter program developed in northern Maine by the Maine Winter Sports Center into a year-round, state-wide effort. The Maine Winter Sports Center is currently active in just over 100 communities in Maine. The program’s emphasis has been on engaging communities with cross-country skiing. L.L.Bean’s donation will enable the organisation to expand both the reach and the activity offering. The funds will be used to purchase year-round outdoor equipment, coordinate programming at the community level throughout the state, and hire staff to train local volunteers. As the program expands to more communities, the focus will encompass activities such as paddling, hiking, mountain biking, orienteering and camping.
The L.L.Bean Healthy Hometowns Program will launch in the communities of Freeport and Bangor, as well as expand in areas of western and northern Maine, such as Farmington and Presque Isle, where the program is already present.
“L.L.Bean is on a mission to get more children outdoors in our 100th Anniversary year and beyond, which is why we’re excited to partner with Maine Winter Sports Center to support Healthy Hometowns,” said Chris McCormick, L.L.Bean president and CEO. “We know through a survey we conducted with the National Park Foundation that kids – and their families – are spending less time in the outdoors than prior generations. Despite parents’ appreciation of the benefits, 60% of parents say their kids spend less than an hour a day outdoors. Our founder Leon Leonwood Bean believed that spending time outdoors was fundamental to happiness in life. As we celebrate our centennial, we look forward to this partnership to help inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts to live a healthy, active and happy lifestyle.”
“On behalf of the Maine Winter Sports Center staff and hundreds of volunteers across the state, we are truly honoured and humbled to be recognised by L.L.Bean,” said Andy Shepard, president and CEO of the Maine Winter Sports Center. “Maine children are quickly losing touch with our rich outdoor heritage and this partnership will allow us to dramatically expand our mission of reconnecting our youth with that heritage. Learning to ski, perform a “J” stroke in a canoe, do a self-recovery in a kayak and fend for oneself in the Maine woods – these skills are not only important to understanding who we are as Mainer’s, I believe they are also important to developing the self confidence required for success in life.”
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