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The Women's Adventure Giveaway and the non-profit Live Adventurously was founded by Danielle and Kate Nolan, also the founders of outdoor adventure company, DNK Presents. In 2014 we started DNK Presents and early on saw the women on our trips having breakthrough or "ah ha" moments, many times it was the women who at the start of the adventure were second guessing themselves and never thought of they would do anything like this (insert backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, etc.). We knew we wanted to offer a give back to the community to get more women back outside reconnecting with nature but also knew there were so many women we wanted to reach that we might not even be on their radar. 

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In 2015 we began working on offering a free adventure to under represented and deserving women, back then it was called The Women's Adventure Contest, and planned to open the first adventure weekend in 2016. We decided to make the adventure a nomination based program because we know that sometimes the women who need something the most won't sign themselves up or think they are deserving. 

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We also decided it wasn't enough just do an adventure weekend for the winners but that we wanted to document the experience to show the world how impactful stepping outside your comfort zone, trying something new, disconnecting from technology and being in the great outdoors can do for a person. Through some fundraising and mostly bootstrapping we were able to get the funds to be able to produce a 35 minute documentary film called, "Live Adventurously". The title of course later became the inspiration for the name of our now non-profit.

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That's mostly how it all began! We've offered a free Adventure Giveaway to four women since 2016. Due to COVID-19 we were not able to complete the Giveaway but are stoked for offering the trip to 8 women in 2021. You can nominate a woman June 1-30th for the 2021 Season on this page.

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We want to get more everyday women out of their comfort zones, experiencing new things, challenging themselves mentally and physically, and living life adventurously. When you do these things you gain confidence, over come barriers, increase problem solving skills, improve relationships, increase productivity and creativity, improve mental, physical and emotional health and wellness as well as many other benefits. We want to get women OUTSIDE to show them what the outdoors and adventure has to offer and reintroduce them to adventure in their life. If you want to learn more or join this movement contact us to see how you can get involved!

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Why Make a Film?

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Why are there so few outdoor adventure films featuring women? If we aren't seeing women on screen or in real life experiencing these trips then it is harder for some of us to image that we can do it. Alison Hudson talks about this in her article, "WHERE ARE WOMEN IN OUTDOOR FILMS? A LOOK AT HOW BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL WANTS TO CHANGE THE STATUS QUO" read more here. We want to see every day women, your mom, sister, aunt, neighbor, teacher, friend experiencing life! With this film we are be able to show everyday women women living in Indiana living life adventurously, taking risks, and empowering themselves with new adventure experiences! This film proves that women belong in the wild, we are strong, confident and why trying something for the first time is so important. 

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You can read more about the why behind "Live Adventurously" in Danielle's article on Thrive Global here.