Looking forward to Spring ....
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Image John Fleetwood
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Dear EOCA Friends
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As we write this, and it cannot make up its mind whether to hail or snow, Spring seems a very long way away! But Spring it must be, because we are celebrating raising well over €8,000 at the recent ISPO outdoor industry trade show and welcoming 4 new members to the Association.
Not only that but our public vote has just started (see below for details about how to get involved) and with €240,000 available for projects this year, the shoots of new growth are already appearing ….
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Public Vote Started ....!
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Yes that’s right – you have 3 weeks to go online and help us choose the first three conservation projects to support in 2015! There are projects in 3 categories: Alpine, Nature and Outdoor - and you can vote once for your favourite project in each category. The vote is being supported by our magazine partners: Alpin, National Geographic Germany, Hike & Trekking, Bike & Trekking, SPORT PARTNER, NORR and The Great Outdoors. Please get all your colleagues, your friends, your neighbours, friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter etc etc involved.
Voting for the Nature and Outdoor Projects has started and ends on the 23rd March. Voting for the Alpine category starts on 16th March and ends on the 30th. Click here to get involved now.
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ISPO Round Up
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The total amount collected at ISPO last month came to an impressive €8556 – which is a record amount for EOCA for this particular show! Socks were all the rage in the form of the Smartwool Sock Vending Machine which spent the 4 days of the show being constantly refilled! Huge thanks to Smartwool who have now raised nearly €6,500 for our conservation projects through the sale of socks at the last 3 trade shows we have attended.
To continue with the sock theme, Teko Socks were on offer at EOCA’s Happy Hour and being sold faster than they could be displayed! Combined, more than 600 pairs of socks were sold at the show, raising over €3000 during the four day show.
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More fundraising...
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Moving on from feet ..... the Scandinavian Outdoor Group asked for contributions towards food and drinks at their bar in the Scandinavian Village, which was topped up by Messe Munich (who host and organise the ISPO show) and resulted in a joint donation of €1,000.
A further €4,500 was collected through the fundraiser held each day on the EOCA stand in the East Entrance via the sales of product generously donated by members, as well as via an extra sale of products from Teko Socks and Goal Zero at the EOCA Happy Hour. Thanks also go to AKU, La Sportiva, Grivel, Rewoolution, Marmot, Schöffel, Bergans, Deuter, Polartec, KEEN and Mammut who all donated gear for our fundraiser.
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Welcome .... to 4 New Members!
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EOCA is delighted to welcome four new companies into membership. Both UK outdoor clothing manufacturer and distributor Rohan Designs Limited and ski bindings and climbing skins company Pomoca SA signed up at the show itself. Following the show, a number of firsts were achieved in the form of the Association's first Belgian and Chinese members. We extend a warm welcome to retailer ASAdventure and clothes and equipment producer Shanghai Kuiran Trade Co. Ltd who bring the current total number of members to 125.
STOP PRESS!!!: As we write this, we are thrilled to welcome Italian footwear brand Zamberlan S.r.L. into membership! Member number 126!
Image Stephen France
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Get Involved!
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Please do let as many people as possible know (through work or at home) about the public vote and ask them to get involved. All of these projects are vitally important and desperately looking for funding. Last year, through 2 public voting rounds, we reached 19 million people and had 96,000 votes on our website – all great for raising awareness about what the outdoor industry is doing to collectively give back to wild spaces.
Image John Fleetwood
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