Outdoor Brand Partners with Mental Health
America and Introduces NatureDose App Challenge to Encourage Time
Outside
Key Takeaways:
- L.L.Bean is on a mission to help people get outside for
their mental wellbeing.
- Each May for Mental Health Awareness Month, the outdoor
retailer goes "off the grid" – clearing it's Instagram grid,
pausing posting on social media, and encouraging followers to join
them in prioritizing time outside.
- The initiative, now in its third year, will kick-off on
May 1, 2024.
- L.L.Bean will partner with Mental Health
America and also host a "Be An Outsider" challenge on
the NatureDose® app to help participants track
their time spent outside.
FREEPORT, Maine, May 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of May's Mental Health Awareness
Month, outdoor retailer L.L.Bean is going "off the grid,"
completely clearing its Instagram grid, pausing posting across all
social media channels, and encouraging followers to join them in
prioritizing time outside – whenever, wherever and however they
can. The company will kick-off the annual initiative on
May 1, inviting followers to break
from scrolling and instead head outside as a proven way to nurture
one's mental wellbeing.
On par with diet, exercise and quality
sleep, research shows spending time in nature has
measurable mental health benefits, including greater
creativity, lower stress, increased self-esteem and reduced
anxiety. The company says its annual commitment to go "off the
grid" in May is central to its longstanding company purpose.
"Prioritizing time outside isn't just about embracing our
company purpose; it's about nurturing our individual wellbeing,"
said Shawn Gorman, L.L.Bean
Executive Chairman of the Board and great-grandson of founder Leon
Leonwood Bean. "At L.L.Bean, we recognize the profound and tangible
impact of time spent outside on our mental wellness, and we're
proud to partner with Mental Health America, which plays a key role
in increasing outdoor access through research and wellness
programs. And, new this year, our 'Be An Outsider' challenge
on NatureDose will help people better understand their time
outside and how it positively impacts their wellbeing. Our hope is
more people can take a step back, assess their priorities and
create new habits centered around spending a bit more time outside
this month."
Partnership with Mental Health America
L.L.Bean will
continue its multi-year partnership with Mental Health America
(MHA) to support and improve mental wellbeing by increasing access
to outdoor programs. Since 2022, L.L.Bean has committed
$500,000 to MHA, including 10
$20,000 mini-grants to its
affiliates, enabling 8,045 hours of outdoor activities, including
hiking, swimming, biking, horseback riding, forest bathing and more
for program participants.
"Being outdoors, even if it's just in the backyard or a city
park or garden, helps improve mood, reduces stress, and supports
our mental well-being," said Schroeder
Stribling, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mental
Health America. "Mental Health Month is a great time to start
connecting with nature and we are thrilled to team up with L.L.Bean
to highlight the importance of spending time outdoors."
"Be An Outsider" Challenge on NatureDose
To encourage
time outdoors this May, L.L.Bean will also host a "Be An Outsider"
challenge on NatureDose, an innovative app by NatureQuant® that
serves as a "nature prescription," helping users better understand
their time spent outside. According to NatureQuant, there is an
overwhelming body of scientific literature that links exposure
to nature to improvements in physiological and psychological
health. In addition to helping users track and monitor time spent
outdoors, those who complete the app challenge will receive 15% off
one full-price item from L.L.Bean.
Jared Hanley, Chief Executive
Officer of NatureQuant, said of the NatureDose app: "While the
health benefits of time in nature are generally accepted, and many
doctors already prescribe time outside as a tool for wellness,
there was no scalable or convenient way to measure or motivate
nature exposure. A simple walk in the park can really decrease your
stress and help you sleep better, but without a nudge, we were
finding that many people spent days on end without ever going
outside. The NatureDose app is designed to remind people to get
outside. Time in nature is a powerful, safe, and low-cost health
intervention we should all be utilizing."
Mental Wellbeing at L.L.Bean
In addition to helping
foster outdoor mental wellbeing for its customers and communities,
L.L.Bean offers its 5,500 global employees a variety of programming
centered around mental health. The company provides all employees
with Outdoor Experience Days, paid days off that employees can use
to spend time outdoors. Last year alone, L.L.Bean employees spent
more than 78,000 hours participating in outdoor activities as part
of the program. Moreover, L.L.Bean was recently awarded Mental
Health America's Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, a
national certification program that recognizes employers committed
to creating mentally healthy workplaces.
Visit L.L.Bean's Instagram profile beginning May 1 to view expert resources, tools and tips
for getting outside this Mental Health Awareness Month. To explore
Mental Health America's resources, visit mhanational.org/may. For
more information on L.L.Bean's partnership with Mental Health
America, visit mhanational.org/llbean. For more information on the
NatureDose app by NatureQuant, visit
naturequant.com/naturedose.
About L.L.Bean, Inc.
L.L.Bean, Inc. is a leading
multichannel merchant of quality outdoor gear and apparel. Founded
in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the company began as a one-room
operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe. Still
family owned, Shawn Gorman, great
grandson of Leon Leonwood Bean, was named Chairman of the Board of
Directors in 2013. While its business has grown over the years,
L.L.Bean continues to uphold the values of its founder, including
his dedication to quality, customer service and a love of the
outdoors. In 2023, L.L.Bean donated over $6
million to outdoor and community-enriching organizations
focused on increasing access to and inclusivity in the outdoors.
L.L.Bean operates 58 stores in 19 states across the United States, along with 25 stores in
Japan and 13 stores in
Canada, in partnership with Jaytex
Group. The 220,000-sq. ft. L.L.Bean retail store campus in
Freeport, ME, is open 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year and welcomes more than 3 million visitors
every year. L.L.Bean can be found worldwide at www.llbean.com,
Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
About Mental Health America
Mental Health America
(MHA) is the nation's leading community-based nonprofit dedicated
to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and
promoting the overall mental health of all. MHA's work is driven by
its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of
overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early
identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care,
services, and supports for those who need them; with recovery as
the goal. Learn more at MHAnational.org.
About NatureQuant
NatureQuant is a technology and
research company that provides a suite of tools to assess and
promote exposure to nature. NatureQuant seeks to improve public
health through the development of strategies and interventions for
the use of such greenspaces through innovative technology.
NatureQuant's tools should encourage practitioners, policymakers,
businesses, and individuals to consider how they can create,
maintain, utilize, promote, and improve access to nature.
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SOURCE L.L.Bean