{"id":39558,"date":"2018-10-19T14:30:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T21:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=39558"},"modified":"2025-01-10T13:11:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T21:11:52","slug":"making-the-case-for-life-outside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/making-the-case-for-life-outside","title":{"rendered":"Making The Case For Life Outside"},"content":{"rendered":"

#OptOutside has always been about choice. The choice to put people ahead of profits, the choice to close our doors on the biggest day in retail and the choice to invite everyone to join us.<\/p>\n

This year, we\u2019re doing it again, and paying our employees to take the day off.<\/p>\n

In the last three years, 15 million people and 700 organizations have created a new tradition to #OptOutside on Black Friday. We thank you all for your help building the movement, but our work\u2019s not done.<\/p>\n

Half the people in America<\/a> don\u2019t get outside even once a year to do outdoor activities. Not a jog around the block, a ride on a bike or a night in a tent.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a real problem and you can read more about why, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For 80 years, REI has been working to awaken a lifelong love of the outdoors\u2014for all. We believe it\u2019s in our nature to be connected with nature. It\u2019s our job to think of new ways to make great gear accessible<\/a>, offer new outdoor adventures, and tell inspiring stories<\/a> each day.<\/p>\n

But when half the country doesn\u2019t get outdoors, we need to make the case that time outside is a must-have, not a nice-to-have.<\/p>\n

This year, we\u2019re confronting the reality that day in, day out, many of us are looking down at our phones instead of up at the world around us. We are more connected now than at any point in history, but it has left us feeling more stressed and overwhelmed. Many people feel stuck in a loop.<\/p>\n

We believe time outside can help break that loop.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we are investing $1 million to support the launch of a new initiative called Nature for Health<\/a> in the University of Washington\u2019s EarthLab to explore the connection between health and time outside.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also working with hundreds of amazing nonprofits and brand partners in every community around the country. They\u2019re the people who\u2019ve been at the heart of #OptOutside since the beginning and they\u2019ll be celebrating #OptOutside with us on the trails.<\/p>\n

Please join us all outside this Black Friday and bring everyone you can. If you\u2019re not sure what to do or where to go, we\u2019ve made it easy by gathering ideas for you at REI.com\/opt-outside<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being a part of REI.<\/p>\n

Jerry Stritzke<\/p>\n

President and CEO\"REI<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

#OptOutside has always been about choice. The choice to put people ahead of profits, the choice to close our doors on the biggest day in retail and the choice to invite everyone to join us. This year, we\u2019re doing it again, and paying our employees to take the day off. In the last three years, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":39638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[347,727,466,656],"internal-tag":[1694,1492],"class_list":["post-39558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-jerry-stritzke","tag-latest-posts","tag-optoutside","tag-public-lands","internal-tag-optoutside","internal-tag-staff-featured-hp-stories"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/making-the-case-for-life-outside","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Making The Case For Life Outside","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/making-the-case-for-life-outside","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/making-the-case-for-life-outside"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/OO_Journal_header_r2_v1.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/OO_Journal_header_r2_v1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chelsea Davis"}],"creator":["Chelsea Davis"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["jerry stritzke","latest posts","optoutside","public lands"],"dateCreated":"2018-10-19T21:30:14Z","datePublished":"2018-10-19T21:30:14Z","dateModified":"2025-01-10T21:11:52Z"},"rendered":"