Ever wonder what happened to Ingrid Gordon? You probably last heard of me hanging off a bridge somewhere blocking a toxic waste shipment for Greenpeace, but here’s what I've been up to these days with my latest effort called Gear for Good. I have taken all my globetrotting activist experience and unique skills and started my own non-profit called Gear for Good. While at Greenpeace, I learned what a huge difference high quality, safe gear made to activists. Unfortunately, most groups don’t have the money, the experience, or the gear company connections necessary to acquire the equipment they need and deserve. What Gear for Good does is as simple as it is effective: locate and solicit donations of demos, seconds, and warranty returns from outdoor companies and give them to grassroots activists who need them, yet can’t afford them.    "Ingrid is one of the most experienced grassroots activist in the country. It’s great to see she’s working with outdoor companies to make sure that their product donations get into the hands of people that really need them." John Sterling, Director of Environmental Programs at Patagonia.    "They’ve all been charmed by her laid-back and impassioned pitch, so keep an eye out for a blue-eyed woman with a firm handshake and some amazing stories of life on the environmental front lines." Tom Price, Outdoor Retailer Daily Exposure Magazine, January 2001.    Sound like the Ingrid that you know and love? Using contacts built up over my 12 years at Greenpeace, Gear for Good scrounges gear from companies like Outdoor Research, Maxim Ropes, Misty Mountain, Guayaki, BlueWater Ropes, CMC Rescue, Patagonia, Manastash, Mountain Hardwear, Arborwear, San Francisco Hat Co., CrazyCreek, and Cellsafe, and keeps a steady supply of gear feeding out to the direct action front lines and a diverse array of activist groups working to make the world a better place. Some of Gear for Good’s recent partners include:    The Ruckus Society, an international activist training organization. Gear for Good provided them with (ropes, harnesses, helmets, cool hemp clothing) to use in their activist trainings camps around the country.    Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, defending the globally outstanding biological diversity of the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion in southern Oregon. Gear for Good donated a high-tech GPS unit to enable them to accurately inventory wildlands to ensure their protection.    Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, working on a rare carnivore tracking project in the North Cascades. They received gaitors and gloves from Gear for Good, which assisted them in locating sensor-equipped cameras in the North Caccades wilderness to establish presence and range of sensitive carnivore species such as lynx, grizzly, and fisher.    The Alaska Coalition, working to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Gear for Good arranged donations of over $8000 in tents, sleeping bags, and other wilderness survival gear, which enabled the Coalition to take US Senators up to the Refuge to experience the wilds of the coastal plain and hopefully vote against drilling there. Other outstanding groups that have received donations from Gear for Good: -Buffalo Field Campaign -Dogwood Alliance -Mattole Forest Defenders -Raincoast Conservation Society -Nevada Wilderness Project -Ancient Forests International -Ancient Trees -Greenpeace -Nature Conservancy -Activists in Aprons -Eyak Rainforest Preservation Council -Cascadia Forest Defenders -Biodiversity Associates -Progressive Animal Welfare Society -Central Cascades Alliance -Yuba Nation -Cook Inlet Keeper -Amazon Watch    "We are grateful to have the support of Gear for Good to facilitate some of our needs for outdoor equipment and allow us to focus our limited funding in other, much needed directions." Kira McDuffee, Raincoast Conservation Society    "I want to extend my deepest thanks to Gear for Good for your recent gifts to the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. Your useful gifts will enhance our staff’s ability to engage in field activities as part of our Public Lands Oversight Campaign Ingrid, you are so damn cool!" Spencer Lennard, Director, KS Wild    "I salute Gear for Good for its useful and much-needed efforts to put quality gear in the hands of on-the-ground activists who are making a difference. Again, thanks for your support." Hudson Dodd, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance    "You are a gem, Ingrid! Muchas Gracias!" Rick Klein, Ancient Forests International    While the new career is a lot tamer than getting arrested for a living, Gear for Good is a full time job for me -- run on a shoestring budget out of my Seattle home. I am solely supported by private donations. Recent non-profit status granted by the IRS means all donations of money and gear are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.    So, please consider helping Gear for Good, one of the most unique, behind the scenes activist organizations out there, and let Gear for Good continue and grow its dedication to getting gear out to the environmental front lines.    Sincerely,    Ingrid