We are well past the holiday hangovers and into our #NewYearNewYou resolutions, but we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the incredible things that happened in the Touchstone community in 2017.
We use the word “community” a lot because it fully encompasses the things we care about most—the people and places that are dear to us as climbers, neighbors, and citizens. We are stronger together, and we’d like to think that the networks we make and connections we form go a long way to making our spot in the world just a little bit brighter.
This past year, we’ve managed to do some incredible things because of you:
- We celebrated Pride Month by supporting our local LGBTQ+ nonprofits;
- We helped build the Khumbu Climbing Center in Nepal by fundraising at Berkeley Ironworks with Alex Honnold and Conrad Anker;
- We supported the rebuilding of Centro Andino El Chaltèn, a climbing gym in Patagonia that burned down in 2016, by shipping them donated climbing holds from Great Western Power Co;
- We sponsored Color the Crag, the country’s first climbing festival dedicated to promoting diversity and representation for people of color;
- We hosted our first annual Woman Up Festival, celebrating womxn in climbing and the climbing industry everywhere;
And, due to your incredible generosity, we renewed our commitment to protecting public lands by raising over $64,000 for the Access Fund in a single week!
And that’s not all…
All year, every year, each Touchstone gym opens its doors to their neighboring schools and programs to give everyone the chance to try climbing. Last year we had hundreds of new climbers scaling our walls and learning new skills, and some of them were kind enough to give us an account of their experiences. We always feature these articles on the blog—here are some of our favorites from 2017:
Retired Ropes Jumpstart their New Lives: The Studio Donates Ropes to Julia Baldwin Elementary
2017 was a hard year in many ways, but we’re proud to be able to look back and see the strength of our community; our family; YOU! We always say that we want to be more than just a bunch of climbing gyms—and thanks to you, we are.
Thank you for being a part of Touchstone. Here’s to 2018! ?
