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SOS Outreach

arn menconi sos outreachSince this week finds me in Colorado looking at colleges and making a few glorious turns on that magical white powder I wanted to share the amazing story of one snow boarder who has created change for thousands of underserved kids. Yes, even snow borders can create more than turns.

His name is Arn Menconi and he grew up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago’s south side in the 1960’s. A trip to Colorado with high school ski club changed everything.  In 1991, Arn moved to Vail, Colorado and decided to replicate his experience for other underserved children by using skiing and snow boarding as the “carrot” to get them going.

In 1993, what started as a way to get underprivileged kids to see the mountaintop turned into a non-profit called SOS Outreach. A non-profit that is much more than skiing and snow boarding but really core values training and mentoring, with a little winter fun mixed in.

SOS teaches courage, discipline, integrity, wisdom, and compassion.  The goal is to keep kids in year-round, multi-year outdoor programs with service projects, peer mentoring, and leadership workshops.

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Today SOS Outreach, is the country’s largest winter sports based youth developmental agency teaching over 5,000 kids each year at 30 ski resorts with 500 adult volunteers in 15 states.

Arn told Mountain Online, “I started SOS because I saw injustice and wanted kids to have fun. What matters is that something is happening that positively affects the lives of kids growing up in neighborhoods like the South Side, where decades of crime and poverty make it seem like there’s no way out; like there are no mountaintops.”

You don’t need to be a skier or a snow boarder to create change, but simply someone with a passion who cares.  Goodness is everywhere and each encounter I have with a snowboarder this week will remind me that Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

 

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Can you Make a Wish?

Did you know that April 29th is World Wish Day? It all started with just one wish. One little boy’s wish.  All these non-profits started with a dream, a purpose…a wish, and the Make A Wish Foundation began….the exact same way…with just one wish.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® traces its beginning to one boy’s wish, 7-year-old Chris Greicius was being treated for leukemia. Little Chris dreamed of becoming a police officer and on April 29, 1980 a few special people decided to make his wish come true.  A police helicopter picked him up and the officers had a custom police uniform made for him and  arranged a motorcycle test so he could earn wings to pin on his uniform.

On May 2, Chris was back in the hospital and not well. He asked to arrange the room so he could always see his new police uniform, his motorcycle helmet and his “Smokey Bear”-style hat. DPS motor officer, Frank Shankwitz, presented Chris with his motorcycle wings. He accepted them with a smile that lit up the room.

The following day, Chris passed away, but not before seeing his dream come true and experiencing the hope, strength and joy that came from receiving his wish. The police officers and Chris’s mom thought that if one boy’s wish could create such happiness, maybe they could do the same for other children. They presented the plan to the people who helped grant Chris’ wish.  In that moment, the Chris Greicius Make-A-Wish® Memorial – which later became known as the Make-A-Wish Foundation® – was born.

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So, on Sunday, April 29th Make a wish and know that dreams do come true everyday…at least every 38 minutes this foundation is granting them.  Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Girls with Sole

I might have mentioned before that I am married to a tri-athlete. There is something incredibly unique about this group of people. Their minds are laser focused on impossible goals and they seem to be able to push their bodies to whatever their mind dictates.

Well, this type of focus is nothing new for Liz Ferro, a dedicated tri-athlete and founder of the non-profit Girls with Sole.  Liz believes that sports gave her the personal strength to overcome her childhood abuse in foster care and wanted to share that strength with other girls going through the same challenges. So in 2009 she had an idea.

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This quote is on the Girls With Sole website and I think it really says it all.

“Sport has the power to change the world.
It has the power to inspire.
It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.
Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.”
– Nelson Mandela

Liz Ferro has done just that, awakened hope for so many girls. Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Give and Take Tees

As you all know by now there is nothing I love more than that moment, that spark that inspires someone to turn passion into action. Its always unexpected and inspiring and Shea Mullen of Give and Take Tees moment is no different.

Shea’s moment didn’t turn into a non-profit but an incredibly cool way to support them.

In Shea’s words:  “It started out about my story. I had been designing t-shirts for about 15 years and was looking to do something more authentic and positive. I have multiple sclerosis, I have a nephew with epilepsy, and my mom died of cancer, but my parents always taught me to turn my challenges into something positive, so I thought, what can I do with that? I was thinking and then one day I saw a college-aged kid wearing a t-shirt that said “1979 Dance-a-thon for Leukemia” and I went up to him and said, “Where did you get your shirt? It fits great, it’s a perfect wash, great graphic…” and he said, “Oh, I got it at Goodwill.” So it was a real shirt, it had been a real event and I thought these charities, these domestic American charities, are being sort of forgotten about – like multiple sclerosis and epilepsy or the American Heart Association –

So why don’t I contact these organizations and see if I can recreate events they did or make up some fictitious ones that would have been events to raise money and create t-shirts around it and donate money back. I’d bring them to the stores that I’ve sold to, great department stores and boutiques that will raise awareness and get a whole new demographic talking about autism and talking about these challenges.

So I just started calling them and working with them and now what started out with my story has become about other people’s stories, which is my favorite part of the whole business. I get emails from people every day saying, “I bought your shirt because…” Some just say “It’s a cool shirt, I love how it fits,” but most people say they bought it because of their relationship to one of the causes or their boyfriend’s niece has epilepsy or their mom had cancer, and I love that. I love that it’s become other people’s stories. Then, we started reaching out more globally.”

Give and Take Tees gives 20 percent of the proceeds of each shirt going to the respective organization.  Shea’s moment turned her job into a passion and makes a difference for so many.

As Shea said, “I think there’s something for everyone and there’s a cause for everyone, too.”

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2012 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.


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