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Keen Announces 2021 Grants, Fights For Healthier Kids And Planet

April 30, 2021

Media Contact

Morgan Lang
French | West | Vaughan
mlang@fwv-us.com
919.637.0990

Portland, Ore.

Nine Non-Profits Receive $100,000 in Grants and KEEN Product

KEEN, Inc. (KEEN), the footwear brand on a mission to make the outside inclusive and accessible to all, today announced nine grassroots organizations will become the 2021 KEEN EFFECT Kids Grantees, receiving a total of $100,000 in grants and KEEN footwear because of their continuing work to inspire outdoor access and inclusion for underserved communities.

Kids today spend less time outdoors than any other generation, devoting only four to seven minutes per day to unstructured outdoor play while spending an average of seven and a half hours in front of electronic media.  Kids from underserved communities have less access to nature and outdoor activities.  The KEEN Effect 2021 grant recipients increase outdoor access in their communities and, in many cases, provide “first time experiences” with outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming.  The nine grantees are:

 

“Outdoor play improves kids’ physical and mental health and leads to an appreciation for the environment.  The decline in outdoor play and rise in screen time is alarming.  These non-profit organizations share KEEN’s mission of ensuring everyone, especially kids, has access to the outdoors,” said Erik Burbank, vice president of The KEEN Effect. “KEEN is proud to support these groups working tirelessly to make sure that more kids experience the outdoors, away from the screen that has occupied us all, especially during Covid.  Promoting outdoor play is at the heart of our efforts and we cannot wait to see what our grantees achieve this year.”

Since 2014, KEEN partners have brought over 133,700 kids outside for high quality recreation, nature-based education, and environmental stewardship. KEEN continues to actively build a more inclusive and accessible outdoors, full of formative experiences and lasting values built outside.

To learn more about The KEEN Effect, visit www.keenfootwear.com/the-keen-effect.html

 

About The KEEN Effect Kids Grants:

The KEEN Effect Kids Grants Program was launched in 2014 to inspire responsible outdoor participation and ensure access and inclusion for underserved youth through innovative and creative programming. Through support from over 100 KEEN Grants totaling $700,000, our partners will have engaged more than 130,000 kids outside for recreation, nature-based education, and environmental stewardship, actively building a future full of formative experiences and lasting values based in nature. Learn more at www.keenfootwear.com/keen-grants.html

 

About KEEN:

Driven by a passion to make the outside and trades accessible for all, KEEN is a values-led, family-owned footwear brand from Portland, Oregon committed to creating original and versatile products, enhancing lives, and inspiring adventures outside. Founded in 2003, it launched a revolution in the industry with the debut of the Newport adventure sandal. It continues to launch game-changing products and establish new standards for performance, comfort, and design while actively working to Detox the Planet. The brand formalized its values commitment under the banner of The KEEN Effect. Learn more at www.keenfootwear.com 

 

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