The National Park Foundation and Feeding America are two nationwide non-profit organizations we love to support.
These 501(c)3s focus on different missions, but both serve America’s people in significant ways. We’re proud to be part of each mission by donating a portion of Storm Creek profits to them.
Storm Creek’s Partnership with These Two Organizations
NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
Storm Creek has supported the National Park Foundation (NPF) since 2021. Our CEO Teresa Fudenberg said, “Pledging to protect our national parks fits naturally with our mission to give back to our communities and the environment. Our national parks are some of the world’s most treasured landscapes, with more and more Americans wanting to experience their beauty firsthand.”
As a company, we’re committed to protecting our environment through sustainable choices in every step of our process, from sourcing to manufacturing to distribution. So helping to preserve our park lands is one way we can make an ongoing impact. Besides donations, park visitors can find our apparel in some national park stores, which is extra special for us!
We began with launching an Exploration Collection with 10% of every purchase going to the NPF. The collection included a variety of versatile apparel styles that were perfect for exploring the outdoors. We launched the collection with a patch design for our home state of Minnesota and added designs for more states as demand increased.
In 2023, Storm Creek also had the chance to partner with a related organization near our Twin Cities headquarters, which was NPF member Mississippi Park Connection. Our annual Earth Day spotlighted this organization’s mission of getting people to and on the river. Having a national park in an urban area is such a special opportunity, so it was great to educate our pop-up shoppers about this and donate 10% of their purchases to support the organization
As of Q3 2023, we’ve been able to donate over $20,000 to help protect and improve America’s national parks through NPF.
FEEDING AMERICA
Hunger is a very real challenge for millions of Americans. With community food pantries taxed beyond their supply with the recent pandemic and high inflation, more individuals and families than ever need help.
Storm Creek has partnered with Feeding America (FA) since 2020, as we all witnessed the impact the pandemic had on food insecurity levels. Last year alone (2022) we donated 270,000 meals through this organization. That included featuring FA as one of our non-profit donation recipients for our Warehouse Sale and Black Friday Sale, where we donate 10% of all sales.
We look forward to our continued connection with Feeding America to help provide hunger relief for Americans locally and across the nation.
The National Park Foundation: Partner to the National Park Service
The US national park system with its 400+ national parks is invaluable for several reasons. First, it’s well-documented that the more we can get outside and be active in outdoor natural areas, the better it is for our physical, mental and emotional health.
Second, these protected natural areas are vital for the well-being and survival of America’s thousands of wildlife species. This includes the natural areas they rely on like waterways, forests, prairies and mountains.
Third, our national park system attracts 320 million people from around the world to see and experience these protected natural treasures. Our local, state and federal economies are all boosted by these visitors, whether they’re fellow Americans or visitors who come from outside our borders.
So…the US Congress established the National Park Foundation (NPF) in 1967 as the official non-profit partner of the National Park Service (NPS) to support its work for our parks.
Here are some of the main ways NPF partners with NPS:
- It raises funds from a variety of donors to help preserve and grow national park services.
- NPF focuses on connecting children and teens to outdoor experiences so they grow up seeing the value of protecting these natural areas too.
- It looks for and helps fund ways to enhance visitor experience.
- It helps restore habitat, maintain trails and fund research that impacts our parks.
- NPF works with local communities to help ensure some of our smaller parks have the impact the big parks have.
- Part of the national park system includes historical sites. NPF has helped broaden the stories of those sites to include a more diverse look at our past.
- It helps find better ways for all visitors to access our parks’ features while protecting these natural areas against strain and overuse.
To learn more visit the National Park Foundation’s website.
Feeding America: With a Goal to End Hunger in the US
We can’t say it any better than they do themselves: “Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. We are a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries, and community-based organizations in the United States. We work to end hunger by providing food and support to millions of people.”
The folks at Feeding America understand that nutritious, high-quality food is necessary for good health for people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. They also understand that when people don’t get enough nutritious food they are almost always dealing with other issues too, like adequate healthcare, housing and jobs.
According to their research, 34 million people in the US are “food insecure,” including nine million children. Those numbers involve people who live in every single county in America.
“Food insecurity” happens when people in a household don’t have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. For some it’s a temporary situation, for others, it can be ongoing.
Here are some of the ways Feeding America partners with tens of thousands of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs to help Americans who don’t get enough to eat every day:
- They work with farmers, food manufacturers, retailers and government agencies to keep unwanted and unsold food out of landfills and instead get it to where it’s most needed.
- They provide much-needed funds to local food banks and their partners for training, transportation, technology and other support needs.
- They advocate for government policies that will help improve the root causes of hunger, cost of living and housing.
Feeding America’s website is a wealth of information for people who need help getting nutritious food, for people who want to volunteer to help others get what they need, and for organizations to partner with them in their own communities.
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