The partial government shutdown is the longest in U.S. history with more than 800,000 federal workers entering uncharted territory.
This story by Michael D’Estries originally appeared in Mother Nature Network.
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis announced during a Facebook live stream that he’s launched a campaign to offer part-time work at his hundreds of dealerships and retail stores to furloughed park employees. He also offered a considerable force of volunteers to help clean up parks in need.
“If you are watching this video and you work at a national park and you’re furloughed right now, I am offering some hours at our Camping World locations, our dealership locations our Gander locations around the country,” Lemonis said in the video. “Give you a couple hours here and there to try and fill in some of the gaps.”
In addition, Lemonis is also calling on park officials to leverage the volunteer activism that’s woven into his company’s culture. In 2013, Lemonis launched The Good Samaritan Program, which enables his team of more than 7,000 employees to enjoy 32 paid hours per year volunteering for causes they’re passionate about.
“I’ve had a lot of employees reach out to me,” he said, “and what we want to do is if you are at a national park today and you need additional labor or additional help, our employees are willing to volunteer their time inside of their program and probably in addition to that, to come help you clean that up.”