Odwalla, Nestle, Geico, Subaru Chip in for Parks Program

The “2009 20% For Parks” program has gained support from several big brand companies including Odwalla, Geico, Nestle Beverage, General Mills, Dasani, Subaru, and Sports Authority as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives. The program is designed to help companies support state parks nationwide, while connecting consumers to their environmentally conscious brands.

Created by marketing firm, Government Solutions Group (GSG), based in Pasadena, California, the program has raised more than $4 million nationwide, and $2 million for California state parks over the past five years. Participating states include California, New York, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, Maryland and Virginia covering more than 1,200 state parks.

As part of the program, GSG will publish more than six million visitor guides, called the State Park Visitor Welcome Kit, which will be distributed at participating state parks this summer. Sponsors pay for the production and shipping of the State Park Welcome Kits and parks receive a 20 percent cut of net proceeds, plus the guides.

In addition to the visitor guides, the 20% For Parks brand develops corporate environmental sponsorships ranging from reforestation and solar projects to carbon sequestration or education programs. As examples, Odwalla supported its consumer tree-planting program through sampling at running, surfing and volleyball events at state parks, and the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southern California sponsored the Reforest California campaign, a reforestation project that raised over $600,000 and 1 million trees for wildfire-scarred parklands in Southern California.