Overland Expo West is always an exciting time. The event is the longest running of the Overland Expo event series and typically marks the real kick-off of the summer adventure season. The atmosphere at WEST is always so inspiring and this year was no different. The Saturday Night Foundation Raffle raised a ton of money for conservation, the Kid’s Education RC Course saw hundreds of kiddos, and our volunteers got to talk to thousands of attendees about keeping public lands in public hands!
Kids EDUCATION RC COurse
The Kid’s Education RC Course is becoming a fan favorite at events, as well as a favorite volunteer assignment among Foundation Volunteers. This year nearly 200 kids came through the RC Course and learned the Overland Responsibly Principles. A handful got to take the new Jeep Wrangler car through the course that includes water crossings, campfires, animal encounters, and event a see-saw.
Adult attendees are big fans of the RC Course as well. One parent stopped by the booth and said, “It’s such a fun thing to have at an event that is 99% catered to adults. The kids get to play and learn at the same time, and we were happy for a break in the shade”.
The Kid’s Education RC Course will be constructed at the remaining Overland Expo Events throughout the rest of the year.
Ultimate Overland Vehicle Build Reveal
We were beyond stoked to get the first look at the 2026 Ultimate Overland Vehicle Build: A 2026 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X with a Tune M1L Camper! The Team at AllDogsOffroad built this truck to be simple, capable, and quite easy on the eyes. Learn more about the build and how you can own it in October at the link below.
Kid's EDUCATION Scavenger Hunt
At each event, resources are available from the Foundation to enable kids to gamify picking up micro-trash around the venue. Each kid gets a trash bag, gloves, and scavenger hunt list of items to find.
Our volunteers lost count of how many kids picked up supplies and brough back bags of trash with smiles on their faces. Parents were surprised at how much their kids enjoyed the gamification of picking up trash and they mentioned incoporating it into their camping trips.
Saturday Night RafflE Raised over $20,000
Thanks to the generosity of the exhibitors that support the raffle year after year, we were able to raise over $20,000 to support the Foundation grant projects in the coming year. Attendees waited through the longest raffle we have ever hosted and that is because of the mass of fantastic prizes donated by our amazingly supportive industry partners!
Our brand partners continue to come in clutch with massive donations like a set of Nokian Tires, a PALLET of 23Zero Camp Chairs, a set of Firestone Tires, and so much more!
Foundation Volunteers Cleanup Ft Tuthill
One of the Overland Responsibly Principles is to Pack it in, Pack it Out. After each Overland Expo Event, Foundation volunteers hang around and pick up trash left behind by attendees and exhibitors. Nearly every event we attend is near public lands that are impacted by thousands of people moving in for the weekend. With high winds on Sunday, micro-trash was scattered all over Ft. Tuthill and our volunteers gathered over 500 pounds of trash!
In an effort to reduce the amount of trash left behind in exhibitor booths, Foundation volunteers handed out 200 trash bags to exhibitors prior to the close of the event. We picked up many of these bags that were utilized and we appreciate all of the industry partners that leave places better than they find them.
More Ways to get involved!
Look for the Overland Expo Foundation booth at ALL FIVE Overland Expo events in 2026 as well as The Big Thing July 9-12; stop by the booth (blue tent next to the Oasis) and purchase your raffle tickets for the Saturday evening raffle. At each event, hundreds of exhibitors donate merchandise from their shelves to benefit the efforts of the Foundation at the raffle, and the prizes are truly overwhelming.
All raffle ticket proceeds go directly to the Overland Expo Foundation and support organizations and individuals who help protect and advance the overland community domestically and around the world.
See all of the great work being done by past recipients at: overlandexpofoundation.org/news-projects.
Interested in getting involved with the Foundation as a volunteer? We still have volunteer opportunities available at Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and East. Apply today!
The Overland Expo Foundation is a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax-deductible. Make a donation today so future generations can continue to explore and experience the beautiful wild spaces we enjoy today.