Big City Mountaineers Receives $20,000 Gift from Polartec

Big City Mountaineers, based in Golden Colorado, instills critical life-skills in under-resourced urban youth through wilderness mentoring experiences.

Golden, CO – July 29, 2016 – Polartec has awarded Big City Mountaineers (BCM) a $20,000 grant to support their youth expeditions. BCM’s 2016 expeditions are underway serving youth in Denver, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Boston and Miami. In total, they will run 42 week-long expeditions and 14 Overnight Camps across the country, serving over 800 youth.

“We are particularly excited to be growing our program to Boston and the New England region where Polartec has operations,” said Bryan Martin, Big City Mountaineers Executive Director. “We believe it is an important area of the country for BCM to serve and Polartec has been a critically important leader for us in establishing this regional program.”

This summer, BCM will take their students on challenging expeditions in Yosemite National Park, the Eagle Cap Wilderness, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the Flat Tops Wilderness, Monadnock State Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park. They partner with community-based youth organizations and recruit caring adult volunteers who act as mentors in the field to help young people realize their potential.

Since 2011, Polartec has supported BCM with nearly $95,000 in cash and product donations. “We’re proud to support Big City Mountaineers,” says Darren Josey, Polartec North American Marketing Manager. “Together, we are working to expose more young and diverse people to the outdoors, encouraging healthy living and conservation.”

“Since our founding, we have provided nearly 40,000 nights under the stars for over 7,500 kids lacking the opportunity to experience the wilderness on their own,” added Martin.

BCM Expeditions:

• Provide wilderness opportunities to under-resourced urban youth ages 8 to 18
• Cultivate relationships between teens and caring adult mentors
• Offer a unique 1-to-1 ratio of adults to teens
• Partner with existing youth development agencies to better address the ongoing needs of under-resourced youth.
• Deliver safe wilderness expeditions led by professional field instructors

BCM’s expedition curriculum is designed to integrate critical life skills such as integrity, self-esteem, responsibility, decision-making abilities and communication skills in the youth they serve. BCM has a proven track record of improving young people’s lives with these 21st century skills. Some of the positive measurable impacts from BCM expeditions are:

• Reduced likelihood to engage in violence
• Reduced likelihood to use drugs and alcohol
• Increased likelihood to maintain good health habits
• Increased likeliness to stay in school
• Increased likelihood to exhibit leadership

To learn more about Big City Mountaineers’ Youth Mentoring Expeditions visit http://www.bigcitymountaineers.org

About Polartec

Polartec is the premium provider of innovative textile solutions. Since inventing modern synthetic fleece in 1981, the engineers at Polartec continue to push the limits of fabric technology. Today, Polartec supplies the world with the most advanced fabric innovations. Polartec products range from advanced lightweight wicking and cooling fabrics, to insulation and weather protection technologies, and utilized by leading apparel brands, the U.S. military and other global militaries, flame resistance, workwear, and contract upholstery markets. For more info, visit Polartec.com and follow Polartec on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.