Tom Campion, Zumiez Founder, Donates $100,000 to 21st Century Conservation Service Corps

SEATTLE, June 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As conservation and outdoor recreation groups descend on Washington, DC for Great Outdoors America Week, local businessman and founder of the Zumiez retail chain (Nasdaq: ZUMZ), Tom Campion made a $100,000 donation to the new 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC). Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, former CEO of Washington's own REI Co-op, launched the public-private initiative in January. The donation was made through the nonprofit Campion Foundation.

"My number one conservation priority is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," said Campion. "By connecting young people to the public lands they can enjoy and help steward today, we can build an appreciation -- and the necessary will -- for conserving remote, intact wild places like the Arctic Refuge and America's Arctic Ocean in the future."

The 21CSC is intended to foster a greater appreciation for the outdoors and America's public lands by engaging young people through play, education, volunteer service, job training and work. As a public private partnership, the 21CSC is working with over 100 partner organizations and eight federal departments and agencies to develop programs to meet the goals set by Secretary Jewell.

Tom and his wife Sonya Campion established the Campion Foundation in 2005 with a focus on protecting wilderness, ending homelessness and strengthening nonprofits. In 2012, the Campion Foundation sponsored the IMAX film, To The Arctic, to provide the public with a rare view into the arctic wilderness.