SOS Outreach Partners With Wilmot Mountain To Introduce The Sports Of Skiing And Snowboarding To Wisconsin-Area Kids

• SOS Outreach program at Wilmot Mountain to engage Chicago youth at Nicholas Senn High School in winter mountain sports
• At-risk youth will be mentored by adults, practice SOS Outreach’s core values, take part in leadership workshops and complete service learning projects at Wilmot Mountain

“The kids from SOS Outreach were genuinely thrilled to be here with the Wilmot Ski and Snowboard School,” said Taylor Ogilvie, vice president of Vail Resorts’ urban ski areas and general manager of Wilmot Mountain. “For many of them, it was their first time ever experiencing skiing or snowboarding and their enthusiasm, coupled with the knowledge of the struggles they have faced, truly warmed the hearts of our team. We are looking forward to welcoming them back next week.”
 
A pilot program at Wilmot Mountain will run for five weeks in January and February to engage inner-city Chicago-area youth. SOS Outreach operates a similar program in metro Denver that has served more than 2,000 young people. Currently, SOS Outreach offers programs across 20 mountain resorts and has full-time offices in Edwards, Colo., Frisco, Colo., Denver, Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Seattle, Wash. – with more than 5,000 at-risk youths across the nation involved.
 
SOS Outreach will also celebrate several milestones this season. The start of this year’s winter programs will officially mark more than 50,000 youth that have benefitted from SOS Outreach programs since the organization’s inception in 1993. Additionally, over the next seven days, SOS Outreach will launch its largest program week of the year - serving 1,541 youth across all locations! As excited as the organization is to report recent expansion and the exciting 50,000 participant milestone, their greatest satisfaction stems from the firsthand impact of the SOS Outreach curriculum.
 
SOS Outreach past participant “Mitzi” recently shared her experience: “SOS Outreach has changed my life in so many ways, but most importantly, it has expanded my family beyond blood.” Mitzi’s sentiment and the community surrounding SOS Outreach is a testament to the strength of the communities in which they operate. Without the support of like-minded community members, mountain partners, volunteers, and organizations, this level of impact would not be possible. SOS Outreach Executive Director Seth Ehrlich adds, “When you’re a part of SOS Outreach, you are a part of something much larger than yourself. In the past month, the strength of the SOS Outreach family has been reinforced through meetings with the team of adults, mountain contacts, schools and youth agencies who give so much of themselves to the success of our participants. The results of our programs are significant and can be seen in the stories of the youth we serve.”

Celebrating the 25 program season this year, SOS Outreach serves over 5,000 youth annually, SOS Outreach promotes long-term success through best-practice and progressive curriculum that focuses on service, goal-setting, life skills and core value development, alongside positive adult mentors.