The 686 RECLAIM Project is a much larger entity than just a design contest and a few jackets in the 686 collection.  The RECLAIM Project is also about giving back and taking materials that would otherwise be thrown away and putting them to good use for people who are in need.  At the end of 2011, 686 donated over 1,500 RECLAIM jackets to charities and organizations across the world, including within the United States, China and Japan.   Below is a recap of just a few of the donation days from around the world with pictures and a few words.  We encourage everyone to research these charities and get involved in your community!  We want to say thank you to everyone that helped make this year’s RECLAIM Project Donation Day a smashing success, especially to our factory, distributors and reps around the world.   
 
In the USA, 686 made RECLAIM jacket donations to SOS (www.sosoutreach.org) , The Big Sky Youth Empowerment  Foundation (www.byep.org) and Stoked Mentoring (www.stoked.org).  These jackets were all pre-ordered to the organizations specific needs, check out the websites of each charity this season for pictures and updates on the youth they help getting some good use out of the RECLAIM jackets !
 
Next, the 686 staff took over 200 jackets to the LA Youth Network (www.layn.org) and Homeboy Industries ( www.homeboy-industries.org), two charities in the Los Angeles area that work with at-risk youth, former gang members and homeless young adults.  We spent the morning at LAYN touring an emergency shelter and then went to East LA for lunch with Homeboy Industries where we gave away some of the jackets, had a tour and listened to amazing stories of survival and overcoming the odds from young men and women.  Check out the pics!
 
In addition to those donations, each sales rep for 686 also received around 40 jackets to spread the love in their zone to a charity that was close to them or that they wanted to work with.  A few of their stories are below as well as some photos.  Please check out the charities that they worked with, especially if you’d like to get involved!

TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE PHOTO'S FROM THE RECLAIM DONATION DAYS AROUND THE WORLD ON OUR FLICKR PAGE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/686apparel/sets/

USA RECLAIM donations

Colorado – Dave and Liz Graves – I Have A Dream Foundation (http://www.coloradoihaveadreamfoundation.org/) 
 
East Coast (NY area)  – Ralph Palladino – Toys of Hope (www.toysofhope.org)
 
East Coast (Vermont area) – Chris Piatek – Laraway Youth and Family Services  and Route 100 in Vermont donations where Irene’s path swept  (www.laraway.org)

US Outdoor Store and the farm project  (www.portlandrescuemission.org)

The 686 Reclaim Project with the US Outdoor store and the farm project. On a blustery Wednesday in early December, the crew of the space ship ROPO of the Farm Project galaxy united to help fight the cold of winter here in Portland Oregon. 686, as part of the Reclaim Project, went on a mission of much needed assistance to deliver jackets to the local shelter for those who are less fortunate this winter.
 
The Farm Project is a northwest based experiential brand marketing firm, who represent local, national, and international companies. They have been working for a number of years building up the local scene for action sports, including Skate, BMX, and Snow. They aren't a hard group to find, usually noticeable by the twenty-five foot ROPO, or Roly Poly, tour van that they are seen driving around in. As it stands, the ROPO is a completely repurposed vehicle, using only repurposed materials inside and some outside. The seats are made from old shirts and clothes. The wood used is left over scrap from construction sites, and old skateboards and snowboards to make the seats and other features. Painting an even larger picture, look at the city of Portland as a whole. Reusing, recycling, and green or some of our biggest core values, having one of the highest bicycle commuter populations in the entire country, and some argue, even the world. So this year when 686 approached the farm project to assist with the Reclaim Project, it was a perfect fit.  Be apart of the Reclaim Project for the local community shelter and deliver some much needed help to our local growing impoverished and homeless community. With the Reclaim Projects entire focus on reusing.
 
So leaving midday, we scooped up Jeff from 686, and headed over to US Outdoor. Located on SW Broadway and Burnside, directly in the heart of the city, the US Outdoor Store has been around the Portland area for over 50 years. Helping the ever-thriving community of snowboarders, skiers, surfers, and outdoorsmen alike.  The US Outdoor store has consistently been a huge asset to the local area. Their partnership with 686 and the Reclaim Project was no exception.  We picked up Paul and Josiah from the US Outdoor store and headed over to the Portland Rescue Mission, only a few blocks away on NW First and Burnside.
 
Founded in 1949 by John Van Diest Sr., the mission opened its doors as the “John 3:16 Mission.” From its earliest days of ministry, the words of that verse of salvation and hope have been at the heart and soul of their motivation for service: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”. Since then the Portland Rescue Mission has had a tireless commitment to breaking the cycle of homelessness. We grabbed up all the jackets, and made our way inside the shelter, and they made swift work of opening up the boxes, and moving them to corresponding areas for the demographics in most need. While we might of not been the last hands they passed through before their final destinations, we stuck around and talk it up with the local community, who welcomed us with open arms. Many of whom have been classified as "chronically homeless", or living in a state of homelessness for well over a year or more. Its a very sad site to lay eyes on, but its a fight that needs to be fought. We hung out, and shared stories, and talked the good news about what 686 is doing with this trip to help get assistance to the people most in need, and how exactly the project worked. Some of the locals listened in, other held out hands to shake in thanks for the donation of over sixty still packaged Reclaim jackets.
 
After chatting for a bit, we packed up the ROPO, and made the short trip back over to the US Outdoor Store and dropped Paul and Josiah off.  With our mission for the day complete, the Farm Project crew along with 686 rep, Jeff Clark headed off into the sunset.  Satisfied with a job well done and plot out our next adventure of mercy. But for now, the hunt begins. Our ever watchful eyes are looking to the streets to find locals who were in need, rocking new jackets, to help combat the cold this winter. A million thanks to our friends at 686 for embarking on such an ambitious project, and US Outdoor Store for helping us get in touch with the local community, and pay it forward.
 

 
The pictures help describe the event that 686 founder, Mike West, traveled to Japan to attend.  In the words of our Japanese counterpart, Junichi Ito, who works at our distributor Blue Achieve, “ I went to go CHIGASAKI-FARM for RECLAIM PROJECT in JAPAN.  CHIGASAKI-FARM is nursing home for children.  Most of the children are there because they are neglected by parents or the parents  have died.  60 children live in here from infants to 18 years old.　There are 20 volunteer staff.
 

 
Mike West also traveled to our factories in Asia and joined them on a journey through the country to three different school locations, where they gave out jackets and met with the foster and at-risk youth of in the interior areas.  They visited the Jinyang Elementary School, in Yi-Lan county, which is located on the eastern coast of Taiwan island in remote mountains. The schools are made up mostly of aboriginal kids (their tribe name is call Tai Ya). It’s located eastern side of the central Taiwan mountain range. The kids had prepared entertainment for us from their traditional tribe dances to music. We had asked to school to prepare lunch for everyone to allow them to interact with our team.  There are 40 kids in this school, 1st ~ 6th grade. They also went to the Nanao Elementary School, in Yi-Lan county where there are 139 kids in this school who received jackets.  Finally, our team from China went to the Yi-Lan Family Social Center, located in Yi-Lan City.  This place helps children that have lost their parents and are placed in local foster homes.  In China, they call it “skip generation parents”, meaning their parents are no longer around and they are raised by the grandparent’s generation. Abused children, low income and single family children are also kept here.  There are 800 children in this center, we met with 50 of them for our event.

TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE PHOTO'S FROM THE RECLAIM DONATION DAYS AROUND THE WORLD ON OUR FLICKR PAGE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/686apparel/sets/