KILLINGTON — For the first time, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, the largest nonprofit in Vermont to provide sports and recreational programming on a daily, year-round basis for people with disabilities, will participate in the nationally recognized charitable giving campaign, #GivingTuesday on Dec. 2. It will harness the generosity of an anonymous Vermont Adaptive family participant, who has made a matching gift challenge of $10,000 to be used to leverage additional funds. The organization’s goal is to raise $20,000 during this campaign, the organization announced on Nov. 21.
“We are honored to have this amazing donor step up and help us raise $20,000 during this season of giving,” said Erin Fernandez, executive director of Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. “The donation also gives us the opportunity to showcase all that is adaptive sports and dispel the myth that adaptive only means having a physical disability. We serve people with any type of disability and that includes not only physical disabilities but also developmental, cognitive and emotional disabilities. All ages. All abilities. Monies raised will help to fund expensive adaptive equipment, train volunteer instructors and to provide scholarships for lessons and outings. It’s a wonderful way for people to pay it forward and spread the holiday cheer.”
For the third year in a row, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (this year, Dec. 2) is a global day dedicated to giving back. #GivingTuesday follows Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday with the goal of celebrating generosity and encouraging people to give during the holiday season.
#GivingTuesday was created to inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support, and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday harnesses the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.
Vermont Adaptive is not only using the event as a fundraiser, but is also rallying its more than 400 volunteers and hundreds of active participants to participate in #GivingTuesday’s “#UNselfie” campaign.
The #UNselfie campaign encourages social media users around the world to take self-photos, or “selfies,” that link to the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts with the tags #GivingTuesday, #UNselfie, and, in Vermont Adaptive’s campaign, #vermontadaptive. In addition to its fundraising goals, Vermont Adaptive is also about the support that comes from what can be given other than money, including time, talent, food, skills, love, and thanks.
“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.”
Local businesses are offering support with donations of sales on Dec. 2 to Vermont Adaptive, product sponsorships, and more. Lookout Tavern, for example, has pledged to donate up to 50 percent of dinner sales to Vermont Adaptive on that day. Buy one entrée and the value of the second entrée will be donated to Vermont Adaptive!
A full list of #GivingTuesday activities will be posted on www.vermontadaptive.org. To make a donation and then have it doubled, donate online or call 802-786-4991. Donations made by check can be sent, noted with #GivingTuesday in the memo, to Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, PO Box 139, Killington, VT 05751.
