TOMS Shoes and So iLL have teamed up with 1Climb in an effort to introduce 100,000 kids to climbing that might not otherwise have the opportunity. Photo: 1Climb
TOMS Shoes, the company famous for its “one for one” model, launched an unlikely partnership with climbing brand So iLL to support 1Climb, a non-profit founded by climber Kevin Jorgeson that introduces urban youth to the sport.
The companies collaborated on a limited run of men’s and women’s climbing and lifestyle shoes and chalk bags to be sold exclusively through an Indiegogo campaign that launched earlier this month. Proceeds from the shoes will go toward building multiple climbing walls at Boys and Girls Clubs across the country and providing guest passes to kids to visit their local climbing gyms.
“We can either take kids climbing or we can bring climbing to them. We want to do both,” the campaign page reads.
The objective is to introduce 100,000 kids to climbing who might not otherwise have the chance.
“Climbing changed my life,” explains Jorgeson on the campaign page. “When I was nine, I went to the grand opening of a climbing gym and from there on out, there was life before climbing and life after climbing. 1Climb has the potential to change the trajectory of a kid’s life. For that simple reason, we want to introduce climbing to as many kids as possible.”
Jorgeson famously climbed El Capitan’s Dawn Wall back in 2015 with Tommy Caldwell, but five years before the feat that captured the world’s attention, Jorgeson built a climbing wall at the Boys and Girls Club in Sonoma, California. He later partnered with So iLL founder Daniel Chancellor to found 1Climb and in 2017 built a climbing wall at a Boys and Girls Club in St. Louis, Missouri. Now, they have their sights on a Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles and have partnered with TOMS to fund the project.
“Impressed by 1Climb’s desire to introduce young people to the unique experience of climbing and help them establish positive practices in their journey to adulthood, TOMS’ investment will enable 1Climb to construct a climbing wall in the Variety Boys & Girls Club in Boyle Heights and implement an ongoing climbing-based curriculum for the club’s members, teaching the youth invaluable life-long skills,” explains the Indiegogo page.
At time of publication, the campaign had well exceeded its $20,000 goal having raised just over $50,000.
“Climbing can be a positive sense of escape and a positive activity that they (kids) build some identity around,” explained TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie. “I’m excited to see and meet some of the kids that will climb for the first time. I’m really excited to see in 5, 10, 15 years who these kids become.”
