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ENLARGE
One by one, Denver-area students listened to their classmates provide examples of acts of compassion they saw on the slopes at Arapahoe Basin on a recent Saturday.
This group was just one among dozens of groups enrolled in SOS Outreach, a Vail Valley-based nonprofit organization spread across nearly 40 mountain resorts in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.
Students had just finished their fifth of five “ride days” with SOS Outreach, and quietly allowed each classmate to discuss the fifth of SOS's five core values. Stephanie Marcus, Front Range program manager for SOS Outreach, said the group had a great time snowboarding, and that many would enroll in programs next year.
“This group was mostly kids who had never been skiing or snowboarding before, and the majority would not have otherwise had the opportunity,” she said. “We look forward to seeing a lot of them return for our multi-year University program next season.”
Marcus said the growth of students was evident in the five days they enrolled in SOS's Learn-to-Ride program, and that many students understood the program was more than learning a sport. After discussing what the core values meant to them, the group, along with parents and supporters, assembled for graduation.
One student, Becky, said to her SOS is “more than learning how to snowboard. We learned about courage, discipline, and other things too.”
This group was just one among dozens of groups enrolled in SOS Outreach, a Vail Valley-based nonprofit organization spread across nearly 40 mountain resorts in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.
Students had just finished their fifth of five “ride days” with SOS Outreach, and quietly allowed each classmate to discuss the fifth of SOS's five core values. Stephanie Marcus, Front Range program manager for SOS Outreach, said the group had a great time snowboarding, and that many would enroll in programs next year.
“This group was mostly kids who had never been skiing or snowboarding before, and the majority would not have otherwise had the opportunity,” she said. “We look forward to seeing a lot of them return for our multi-year University program next season.”
Marcus said the growth of students was evident in the five days they enrolled in SOS's Learn-to-Ride program, and that many students understood the program was more than learning a sport. After discussing what the core values meant to them, the group, along with parents and supporters, assembled for graduation.
One student, Becky, said to her SOS is “more than learning how to snowboard. We learned about courage, discipline, and other things too.”
Started with 40
This type of student feedback is music to the ears of Arn Menconi, the founder and executive director of SOS Outreach. Menconi began the program in 1993 in the Vail Valley and said he was pleasantly surprised to see its rapid expansion.“We just celebrated our 16th birthday at SOS a couple of days ago, and when you sit back for a moment and take stock of how far it's come from the early days, it's really remarkable,” he said, noting that in its first season, SOS took 40 kids snowboarding for a day.
Today the organization serves more than 3,000 kids in winter sports, and another 1,500 in outdoor sports during warmer months.“We wouldn't be where we are today without the generosity of Vail Resorts and a number of other corporate sponsors that provide us with everything from lift tickets to professional instructors to quality gear,” Menconi said.
“As we continue to push forward, we're thrilled to work with other nonprofits to reach an even greater number of kids, and do so more effectively than ever before.”
Menconi and his staff spent weeks over the summer fine-tuning the curriculum to ensure it was both fun and meaningful for participants, he said.
“It's great to have someone from Harvard step in and say what you're doing is effective,” he said, referring to Dr. Gil Noam's visit last Spring, after which he called SOS a leader in after-school programs. “But hearing it from kids like Becky, who had a blast going down the hill for five days this year, and still says her biggest memory is learning about the core values, that's why we're in it.”
Community work
Theresa Bisio is program director for SOS Outreach in Summit County and said her favorite aspect was seeing students return to the program.“It's amazing to see kids advance from Learn-to-Ride to the multi-year University program,” she said. “As they progress through university, we set higher expectations in terms of asking them to give back. But no matter how high we set the bar, the kids find a way to go above and beyond.”
Bisio said many students who graduated the multi-year program have returned to help mentor younger students.
“What impresses me most are kids who have been in SOS for six, seven, eight years, and they'll just drop by the office to see if we need help with anything,” she said. “They've completed every requirement for the program, but still want to help in any way they can.”
Bisio said her students have helped with a number of community projects, including serving meals at the Elks Club, working with the U.S. Forest Service to clear trails, and pitching in to help Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
“Each year our university kids come together and identify a problem they see in our community, and figure out a way to address it,” she said. “It could be unhealthy choices by their peers or it could be an environmental issue — regardless of what it is, they take it upon themselves to make a difference.”
For more information on SOS Outreach, visit http://www.sosoutreach.org or call 970-926-9292. Aside from financial contributions, the group is looking for donations of gently used gear and clothing.
