Vail Mountain School named ‘2025 Volunteer Group of the Year’
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Eagle Valley Community Foundation, an Eagle County nonprofit, recognized Vail Mountain School as its 2025 Volunteer Group of the Year.
The award recognized the school’s outstanding commitment to service, experiential learning and the meaningful connections it built across the community, according to a statement from the Eagle Valley Community Foundation. Vail Mountain School, an independent K-12 school in Eagle County, was formally recognized for this accolade on May 14 at the school’s town hall.
“Vail Mountain School has created a model for what it looks like when education meets community impact,” said Grace Anshutz, director of development and marketing at the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, in a recent statement. “Students are not just learning, they are building relationships, strengthening trust, and showing up for their neighbors in powerful ways.”
The school’s Spanish program, led by educator Angela Alonso, was highlighted for its work to provide students the ability to apply their language skills in real-world settings — volunteering to support food access with The Community Market and assisting Spanish-speaking community members at MIRA Health Fairs with registration, directions and access to critical health services.
“Students gain confidence communicating with native speakers and deepen their understanding of the diverse community they live in,” Alonso said in a recent statement. “They strengthen their ability to empathize with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.”
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The school’s work providing for its Eagle County community also goes beyond the classroom.
Vail Mountain School has an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service where students, faculty and families come together to provide support to The Community Market and other local initiatives. The school also regularly donates excess meals to the market in an effort to provide meals to local families in need and in an effort to reduce food waste, partnering with the Eagle Valley Community Foundation’s REcover Program. Parents of the young students have also played a role in community efforts with their own parent group.
“Volunteering helps students grow as thoughtful, community minded young adults,” Alonso said. “They develop responsibility, maturity, and a genuine sense of civic engagement.”
