The Firstchair

I'm so excited to announce the launch of a great new non-profit organization (NPO) called The Firstchair. I discovered it by accident through the Twitter/Instagram accounts of a group called Snowsnobs; my interest was piqued by their mission statement:

"Our mission is to help underserved kids access ski and ride programs.  Mountain towns are often surrounded by impoverished communities. Within these communities many kids never experience the joy of skiing or snowboarding.  Together we can help get kids on the hill." - www.snowsnobs.com

Since I'd been looking for some sort of volunteer opportunity here in UT (I'd been involved with a number of groups in Bozeman and was starting to feel the need to volunteer again), this seemed like the perfect blend of service and skiing. 

After contacting the organization I learned that the NPO was actually about to be launched under the name The Firstchair, and while they were originally hoping to get a handful of kids from the Ogden area enrolled in a multi-week program up that way, the support they'd garnered had allowed them to expand their goals much more broadly and quickly than the founder, one Michael McKenney, had even dared hope. 

The great thing about this organization is that it's founded by and run by skiers/boarders. It's a way to share the love of winter sports with those who may not have the opportunity to try them. The Firstchair is merely a facilitator of enrollment into learn-to-ski/ride camps; it does not run the camps and its volunteers are not the instructors or involved in the execution of the camps (though some, like myself, are certified as such). The reason for this is simple: lowering liability costs allows The Firstchair to spend more money on kids in the camps. 

I'll be sharing more as we gain momentum, but keep your eye out for The Firstchair (www.thefirstchair.org, Twitter and Instagram: @thefirstchair, and on Facebook) and let your friends know. If you know of places where there are kids who could benefit from our help, please let me know. Let's share our love of the mountains with the next generation so they can help to maintain them. Let's help those kids search for their Steeper Side.