Earlier this year, Tom Campion, Founder of Zumiez, donated $100,000 to the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) in support of Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell’s goal to raise $20 million in private funds to help further leverage federal funding for the initiative. The Partnership for the 21CSC sent him some interview questions by email, and he kindly responded with the answers below.

The Partnership for the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) is grateful to you for supporting the 21CSC with such a generous donation through your Campion Foundation. How did you become aware of the 21CSC initiative?

TC: I have known Secretary Jewell for many years. We both ran companies in Seattle that sold gear and apparel to customers actively engaged in outdoor recreation when Sally was at the helm of REI and myself at Zumiez. I was thrilled when she was selected to lead our largest federal land management agency, and have stayed in close touch all along.



Your foundation directs its focus on wilderness protection, ending homelessness, and capacity building. Do you see the 21CSC as an initiative that spans all three of your focus areas by enabling conservation stewardship, providing job opportunities to underserved youth, and building capacity for the Corps on the ground completing the projects?



TC: Short answer: you bet.

21CSC is a smart, practical approach combining stewardship of our public lands and economic opportunity for young people. For the participants – it is also an incredible opportunity to combine public service with personal and professional development.

I have always thought of the great outdoors as a giant classroom. Some of my best instincts in the competitive world of business were honed on early trips exploring public lands in the Pacific Northwest, places like Olympic National Park. I learned a lot about self-reliance, innovation and problem solving on my outdoor adventures. I am sure the Corpsmembers will earn some skills, experience, and memories that will last a lifetime.

And that really is in keeping with the approach we take at the Campion Foundation – addressing the systems and structures that underlie the challenges we face in wilderness conservation, homelessness, and capacity building for nonprofits. 21CSC programs have important impacts today, but long lasting potential because the program empowers young people for a lifetime of active citizenship.



From a different but equally important perspective, your company’s separate Zumiez Foundation has devoted a lot of its philanthropy to giving back to communities, and directly helping people in need. Do you personally see an alignment between the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps and Zumiez’s efforts in this arena?



TC: Absolutely. The programs that corps members work on address real needs in restoring and conserving important places. Zumiez Foundation addresses real needs by donating clothes to people who need them, especially in tough times.



Why do you think it’s important for community members to be involved in conservation in such a hands-on way? And, as a business leader, what do you perceive as the direct impact of companies and businesses in supporting the 21CSC?



TC: Public lands are a shared resource, and a shared responsibility. And so is looking out for future generations of Americans. We’re all in this together, so it makes perfect sense for businesses to pitch in, especially businesses like mine that have a direct connection to being out playing in these great landscapes that every American can claim as their own. I think the impact we can have is significant, from direct financial support to make sure the 21CSC is as strong as it should be, to spreading the word among our business colleagues and, perhaps more importantly, our customer base, who just so happen to mirror the 21CSC demographic.



Your Foundation helped sponsor the IMAX Film To the Arctic… do you think an IMAX film could be made about the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps? If not an IMAX movie, what are some other creative mediums that you think could be used to help inform and engage Americans to support the 21CSC?



TC: Well, certainly the majesty of America’s public lands and great outdoors, where much of the 21CSC does its work, lends itself to the IMAX and large screen format. Just look at the fantastic video just made by my friends at The North Face – what a great expression of the demand for access to these great places and our shared need to take care of them.

But what I think is really important is that the corps members themselves tell their stories in all kinds of ways – from taking them back to their families, friends and neighborhoods, to social media and reaching out to organizations and programs where future corps members might be found: churches, schools, college campuses, and Boys and Girls clubs.

Nothing sells better than authentic passion and personal experience. It’s what I take with me when I hit the halls of Washington, DC to advocate for permanent protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and its what alumni of the 21CSC should take with them when they are engaging friends and communities to get involved.