Dick’s to donate 1% of sales to fund Public Lands initiative

Public Lands, the new outdoor store concept from Dick’s Sporting Goods, has created a fund to support the conservation of access to public lands and outdoor spaces.

The Public Lands Fund will aid local and national initiatives that protect new lands, improve existing ones, break down the barriers of access to outdoor experiences and improve inclusion and equity in the outdoors.

Dick’s, one of the leading retailers of fishing tackle in the US, will donate 1% of all sales to the fund. It will initially partner with ten environmental non-profit organisations.

The announcement comes ahead of the opening of the first Public Lands store in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area on the weekend of September 24th and 26th. A second store will open in Columbus, Ohio in October.

“Our mission is to celebrate and protect public lands for all,” said Todd Spaletto, President of Public Lands. “We want to do this in a meaningful way and partner with organisations that have already accomplished incredible work to ensure our public lands and outdoor spaces are clean, preserved and open for all.

“We are going to be working with our non-profit partners to support their missions and collaborate on programmes that get more people into the outdoors and take care of our local, state and national parks and recreation spaces.

“We’re proud that our Pittsburgh-area store team has already logged 224 hours in volunteering with local non-profit partners for trail restoration, clean up and breaking new trails in local parks and lands.”

The Public Lands Fund is an initiative from the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation 501 charity.