The IT’S GREAT OUT THERE COALITION (IGOT) has announced that one of its latest grant recipients has secured additional support, boosting a grassroots initiative to get more people active in the outdoors. Sea to Summit has stepped up as a partner for Finnish non-profit Mikkelin Latu for its upcoming Sleep Outdoors Night 2024 event.
Mikkelin Latu is a local branch of Suomen Latu, the largest outdoor recreation organisation in Finland. Through Sleep Outdoors Night 2024 in August, the group aims to facilitate a communal celebration of Finnish Nature Day. IGOT hopes to inspire other brands to join in supporting projects like this, enhancing the reach and impact of grassroots outdoor activities across Europe.
The event will provide an accessible opportunity for participation, particularly targeting refugee and immigrant families who are unfamiliar with outdoor activities in the country. This will involve collaboration with the local multicultural centre, Mimosa, which has strong connections to those communities.
Earlier this year, Mikkelin Latu was awarded a grant by IGOT to help deliver Sleep Outdoors Night 2024. This year, IGOT is supporting eight grassroots initiatives with €32,000, providing outdoor adventures to communities in Montenegro, France, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Germany, Finland, and the UK.
Together, these projects will deliver around 1,200 OUTDOOR ACTIVITY DAYS (OAD) as ‘targeted physical activity interventions in nature, designed to get citizens active, sustainably, inclusively and responsibly.’ OAD are aligned to the latest World Health Organization guidelines on physical activity and are delivered by outdoor professionals, meeting a clear set of criteria.
Following the award of an #itsgreatoutthere grant, outdoor gear brand Sea to Summit came forward to offer additional support to Mikkelin Latu. This will take the form of ten down sleeping bags, comfortable self-inflating sleeping mats, pillows and financial backing.
Seija Cecile Lahteenmaa, digital marketing specialist EMEA at Sea to Summit, said, “It’s important for us to give back and support outdoor adventures as this is at the core of our business and our values.”
Margo de Lange, secretary general of IGOT, added, “We can only make a difference by leading the way. That’s why the delivery of Outdoor Activity Days, actual days of physical activity in nature, is at the heart of Coalition activities to achieve our mission to get Europe active outdoors.”
