Winnebago Industries and the National Park Foundation Partner to Advance Outdoor Equity

Multi-year partnership advances racial equity by helping to create career pathways in national parks

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., March 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For more than six decades, Winnebago Industries has created products that enable customers to explore America’s national parks. Today, Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO), a leading outdoor lifestyle product manufacturer, is bolstering its support of the National Park Foundation (NPF), the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. In aligning with NPF’s efforts to inspire and diversify the next generation of outdoor leaders, Winnebago will fund critical preservation and restoration projects in parks across the country.

This year, Winnebago Industries’ and the Winnebago Industries Foundation will focus on service corps programs, which provide young people, ages 18-35, with hands-on work experience in America’s national parks. Participants will learn new construction and preservation skills, while providing parks with critical infrastructure improvements. Service corps programs facilitate connections to the parks, provide on-the-job training, and help to create more opportunities for diverse leaders to experience careers in the outdoors.

“Winnebago Industries is uniquely positioned to help bring more people to national parks safely and comfortably, thanks to our wide array of outdoor lifestyle products,” said Winnebago Industries President and CEO Michael Happe. “However, the partnership with the National Park Foundation runs much deeper. Together we aim to grow equitable outdoor spaces by engaging the next generation of women and outdoor enthusiasts of color with meaningful career pathways in national parks. It is an honor to support the work of the National Park Foundation in pursuit of our common goals.”

As part of the partnership with NPF, Winnebago and the Winnebago Industries Foundation will accelerate efforts started two years ago to raise awareness about the more than 400 parks available to visitors, including those less traveled. The Winnebago Industries Foundation also provides support for NPF’s Open OutDoors for Kids program, which offers hands-on learning opportunities for students to experience the beauty, history, and culture of our parks through field trips and educational resources.