Update

Thank you to everyone for making the KER and The North Face® National Gear Drop collection drive a great success! Nationwide, we collected over 3 tons of winter gear!

We shipped a total of 239 boxes to Kashmir, including: 60 tents, 100 sleeping bags, 600 jackets, 50 backpacks and 115 boxes of clothing.

We are currently planning a second drive to collect additional supplies. We will be posting more information on our website in the coming weeks, or if you would like to me notified by email, please contact us.

November 18 to 23, 2005: Nationwide Gear Drop

Winter is coming and the situation remains urgent for the estimated 2 -3 million people left homeless by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Kashmir.

The North Face, Kashmir Earthquake Relief, and GlobalGiving have partnered to conduct a nationwide gear drop from November 18 – 23 to help some of the most at-risk Kashmir earthquake victims. Donate between November 18 and November 23, 2005 at any of The North Face Retail Stores.

Donations must be clean and functional and winter appropriate and must be limited to:

• Three and Four-Season Tents

• Tarps Sleeping Bags, Pads

• Packs

• New pairs of work gloves

• Waterproof jackets and/or Insulated jackets

• Insulated tops or layering pieces (i.e. fleece, wool)

Do to the nature of the conditions in Kashmir, stores will not be able to accept:

• Lightweight/summer tents

• Lightweight/summer outerwear or gear

• Shoes or clothing (unless specified)

• Damaged or incomplete tents, gear, or apparel

• Cotton clothing

Where your donations will go

All goods will be sent to the Kashmir Earthquake Relief national warehouse in Los Angeles, where they will be quickly sorted and prepared by K.E.R. volunteers for emergency international cargo airlift to the Kashmir Region.

While the airlift is enroute, The North Face and K.E.R. will launch a joint expedition to assist some of the most at-risk communities in the quake-hit areas of Kashmir. Most villages will have to be reached by foot, some areas require traversing over an 11,500 ft snowbound Himalayan mountain pass.

Willie Benegas will lead The North Face Athlete Team, including Renan Ozturk, Cedar Wright and Patrick Kenny, a colleague of Benegas, to the Kashmir region to survey damage, assess avalanche danger to relief camps, and oversee the delivery of gear to some of the hardest hit villages where K.E.R is working. Benegas, a member of The North Face athlete team for 7 years, has frequented this region since 1993 and took the lead on this expedition to give back to the region that inspires this group of mountaineers to continue to explore.

To find out more about The North Face and KER relief expedition, please click here.