The sNOwBoundaries Project – Hurricane Irene Donations

Update: 10/2/11

The project goal: to collect donations of ski/ride equipment and winter gear for Vermonters that had theirs destroyed in the Irene Floods. Please read previous post for more information.

Thank you to everyone who has offered to help with this project!  I am starting to gather donation commitments and I could not have done it without your help!  Some of the things donated so far are goggles, snowboard boots, snowboards and jackets!

I want to send a special thanks to a few key supporters of this project:

Smugglers Notch, VT: This is the resort that I learned to snowboard at and it’s where I fell in love with the mountain lifestyle.  While I love many of the Vermont mountain resorts for different reasons, Smugglers Notch definitely holds a special place in my heart.  Smuggs has suggested that they may be able to obtain donations from their employees – Just another reason why Smugglers Notch rocks!

David Z: I connected with David when I first started sNOwBoundaries almost 2 years ago and he’s helped me build my network in the snowboarding community. His blog Agnarchy Snowboarding is informative, amusing and courtesy of two guys from Michigan who “just want to shred gnar and have fun”!  David has offered to make a donation to The sNOwBoundaries Foundation.  (more information about that below)

Jillian Bejtlich: I just connected with Jillian through The sNOwBoundaries project and I am grateful that I did.  Jillian will be visiting 54 ski areas in New England during her upcoming seven week vacation! Seven weeks of vacation?  Yeah, totally unfair but it’s great for Jullian and I’m excited to follow her blog Tenders & Trails to hear about her adventures!  I highly recommend following Jillian if you’re a Mountain Resort in New England because she will be visiting your resort and she will be blogging about it!  I am excited to be partnering with Jillian on The sNOwBoundaries Project.  She will be letting people know about it through her blog and collecting donations in her New Hampshire community.

Steven Weiss & Gina Begin: 11,000 miles, 19 states, 2 provinces, 36 North American climbing areas: Does this sound like The Most Epic Trip?! Well, that’s exactly what it is.  Steve and Gina are the amazing travelers who have committed to this adventure known as The Most Epic Trip.  During their travels they have stayed connected with fellow adventure seeking friends through twitter, facebook, and their blog.   I am thrilled that they have shown their support and love for the mountain lifestyle by reaching out and offering to donate a snowboard to The sNOwBoundaries Project!

How will I distribute the equipment/gear?

I have a list of the communities that were impacted by the floods.  I plan to market the donation events through Facebook, twitter, and by emailing flyers to schools in the communities for students to take homes and/or to post at the school.  If you have other ideas on how to market the event email me and let me know your thoughts.

What if there is equipment left over?

Currently, I am in the process of establishing The sNOwBoundaries Foundation.  The foundation is a nonprofit organization that will encourage families to be active in the wintertime by providing them with the resources needed to ski and snowboard.   I will make every effort to distribute donations to people that were impacted by Irene.  If the season passes and there is gear left, it will become property of The sNOwBoundaries foundation.  The foundation will have a continued commitment to helping people impacted by Irene obtain gear/equipment.  Also, at your request and if demographically possible, I can return donations not distributed at the end of the season.

I would love to partner with resorts, companies and other mountain enthusiast on gathering donations.

PLEASE email me if you have gear/equipment that you want to donate: snowboundaries@gmail.com Thank you!!

The Project: 

It’s been really inspiring to work on the sNOwBoundaries project over the past few weeks!  So many people have offered to help with the project; I have to admit I am still in awe every time someone asks “how can I help?”

The project goal: to collect donations of ski/ride equipment and winter gear for Vermonters that had theirs destroyed in the Irene Floods.

Right now I am in need of donation commitments; if you are able to make a donation please send an email to snowboundaries@gmail.com and let me know what you are willing to donate.  I need to ensure that I can gather up enough items to make it worth creating at least one event to distribute donations to families in need.

What to donate? Skis, snowboards, boots, jackets, snow pants, helmets, goggles, gloves, hats.

I am requesting donations of quality ski and snowboard equipment/gear.  This is a “gift” to those in need and I want to offer them quality items.   For example, if a snowboard is a few of years old and in need of a wax bath that would be considered quality.  If equipment is 10 years old and has spent more time with spiders then it has on the slopes it probably wouldn’t be considered appropriate for this.  I don’t want to sound ungrateful of the fact that people are willing to donate their stuff, but I think you might know where I’m going with this explanation. Definitely email me if you have questions or concerns.

How will this help?  Let’s help Vermonters get back to living the Vermont lifestyle we all love!

I respect the fact that this is a very traumatic and stressful time for many families.  The first priority for these families is rebuilding the foundation of their lives.  This requires money.  If you want to make a monetary donation I encourage you to visit the State of Vermont’s website which can provide you with guidance on the process.

The sNOwBoundaries project is ANOTHER way to give.  Maybe you can’t make a monetary donation and/or are unable to volunteer time towards the recovery efforts but want to do something to help.  If you have a jacket that doesn’t fit anymore, or are upgrading your equipment, or have an extra item that you are willing to spare then this is your opportunity to help.

I came up with this idea when a friend of mine asked me if I had any extra snowboard equipment. She was looking for the equipment because her friend’s son had his snowboard destroyed in the flood.  It made me realized the last thing families were going to consider replacing was their recreation equipment.  As a snowboarding addict this really hit home for me.  The sNOwBoundaries project is to help families get back to living the lifestyle they were living and loving before Irene’s devastation.

What’s to expect?  Lots of smiles.

If you send me an email making a donation commitment I will respond to it and confirm that I received your message.   Once I have enough donation commitments I will then schedule events in areas that were impacted by floods in order to reach the people in need.  I am hoping to partner with Ski Resorts or schools located in those areas for the donation pick up events.  Once the events are scheduled I will send out an email to everyone in order to coordinate the drop off (or pick up) plan.

It’s important for you to know that I won’t be confirming that everyone who receives a donated item was a skier or snowboarder prior to the flood; however, I am coordinating a way to confirm that they were impacted by the floods.  The families are going through a difficult time; if this project opens the door for them to try a new recreation then I feel like something good came out of it.

Not carved in stone.  “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

If you’re reading this – thank you.  I appreciate your time and interest in learning about the sNOwBoundaries project.  This is not a perfected plan it is a work in progress.  If you have any questions, suggestions, advice or partnering opportunities please do not hesitate to send me an email: snowboundaries@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support! K.