The gear drive at Cordura's booth

By: Patrick Gensel

High tech fabric manufacturer Cordura has teamed up with the non profit Gear to Grow to hold a gear drive at the Cordura booth at this years Summer Outdoor Retailer Expo. Donors contributed gear samples, second hand gear and extra gear to the drive located at Cordura booth. Some brands even shipped donated gear directly to the Gear to Grow warehouse in Salt Lake City prior to the event.

Gear including tents, backpacks, shoes and more were contributed by over 400 folks. Contributors included the likes of exhibitors, attendees and press. Some of the larger donations included Camelbak’s contribution of 18 hydration bladders and a donation of Three large boxes filled with stoves, bladders, Dry bags and Therm-a-Rest pads from Cascade Designs. Other substantial contributions were made by Icebreaker, Mountain Hardwear, Igloo and Carve Designs.

“We are extremely pleased with the response from our call to action within the outdoor industry,” said JT VonLunen, co-founder of Gear to Grow. “The large amount and variety of donated items will better outfit our beneficiaries and help get them outdoors with the appropriate gear and apparel.”

For those of you who may not be completely in the loop, Gear to Grow takes the generous donations it receives and distributes them to the more than 70 Outdoor related non-profits that it works with. Some of the non-profits include Big City Mountaineers, Bay Area Wilderness Training and Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Beneficiaries are supplied based on their current needs.

Cordura, a leading manufacturer of fabrics found prominently in the products of the outdoor industry was gracious enough to provide their Outdoor Retailer booth as a base of operations and collections area for the 2011 gear drive.

“We would also like to thank CORDURA® brand team for offering their booth as a collection site, and for helping us generate awareness about the gear drive and our program’s initiatives,” continues VonLunen. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with CORDURA® brand for years to come.”

For more info on Gear to Grow and how to get involved, head over to www.geartogrow.org