Program Changes amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic

Program Changes amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic

When we formed The Outdoor Kind, LLC, we had a two-prong mission:  To educate outdoors enthusiasts on emergency and fire prevention, and to raise funds for North American first responders. We are proud of the educational work we have done, and of the many great organizations we have donated to over the years.

In November 2019, we added direct patient care as a third-prong offering when Outdoor Kind president John Van Barriger completed an intensive Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course and certification exam in Freeport, Maine. In addition to his ongoing safety education work, John  will now provide “Woofer” services at outdoors events, wilderness activities, and in rural areas where there are extended transport times. As most organized events are currently on hold, John’s work there will be postponed as well.

There are other pandemic-related changes, too. Unfortunately, the pandemic is forcing expo organizers to cancel their events, as happened recently with Canoecopia. Our inability to go to the many shows at which we present and take donations means we’ll be lucky to survive this year as a corporate entity. Not only had we already purchased non-refundable booth space at some of these shows, but we had also produced safety brochures and ordered swag for donations.

Additionally, running The Outdoor Kind LLC requires numerous fixed expenses, from web hosting costs to office expenses, etc. And no matter how hard we try to minimize these costs, we have some expenses that we simply cannot avoid. So we have reluctantly decided to suspend our charitable donations to first responders this year and focus strictly on online education initiatives.

This is not a decision we made lightly, but realize that it is better to survive the year and be able to give in 2021 if the pandemic is behind us than to fold-up shop and never conduct safety outreach again. We trust that you, our supporters, will understand this temporary giving suspension and we look forward to seeing you in person at outdoors-related events when it is safe to do so once more.

In the meantime, please stay safe, wear that mask, and wash your hands!

Thank you,
John