Boulder, CO -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/25/2014 -- After tallying more than 25,000 votes from Facebook fans, The North Face announced Paradox Sports as a winner of the $25,000 2014 Explore Fund grant to spread adaptive climbing clubs all over the nation. Earlier this summer, The North Face Explore Fund awarded $5,000 to 15 projects dedicated to getting more youth outside and connected to nature as part of its annual $250,000 grant program. In addition to this $75,000 commitment, The North Face chose 10 organizations and invited its community to vote on Facebook for the organization of their choice, giving fans a chance to be directly involved in supporting their favorite cause with the largest grants The North Face has ever awarded.

The Explore Fund’s mission is to inspire and enable the next generation of explorers by funding non-profit organizations that are working to connect children with nature. By encouraging an active healthy lifestyle and protection of our natural landscapes, a stronger connection of youth to the outdoors can be nurtured. Paradox Sports is a non-profit that improves people’s lives by creating adaptive sport communities for people of all abilities and ages. Paradox Sports was voted one of the top grantees for 2014 because of their large network and track record with adaptive sports.

“This support will allow us to spread adaptive climbing knowledge around the country with our newly created handbook and clinic. Our goal is to get everyone climbing, no matter their disability,” said Timmy O'Neill, Paradox Sports co-founder.

Paradox was established in 2007 to improve people’s lives by creating adaptive sport communities built to inspire. Since it’s founding, the program has led rock climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing, rafting, and hiking events across the country focused on adapting to disabilities. Paradox Sports challenges its participants to overcome perceived physical and mental barriers to do things they have never done before in the outdoors.

Paradox Sports adaptive climbing clubs will launch in the upcoming fall and winter around the nation. To learn more about Paradox Sports and their adaptive climbing clubs, visit www.paradoxsports.org.

All of The North Face Explore Fund recipients were chosen based on their commitment to one of three different focus areas: creating more connections of youth to nature and providing inspiration to explore, increasing access to close to home front-and-backcountry recreation opportunities, and engaging a new and diverse audience with the outdoors.

“It is exciting to see the incredible response from our customers and fans who are just as passionate about giving more kids the opportunity to experience the outdoors as we are,” said Ann Krcik, director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. “Together with our enthusiastic community, we are making an investment in the next generation of outdoor explorers and conservationists who will grow to love and protect the wild places we all love to play.”

About The Explore Fund
Since The Explore Fund was initiated in 2010, The North Face has provided more than $1 million in grants to non-profits all over the world working to connect youth to the outdoors with more than three quarters of that going to programs in the United States.