Program Goals

Goals for 2007/2008

1. Raise $20,000 to fund Portland and Alaska programs

   The Portland program needs its own transportation in order to run trips more often, and this will require substantial funds for purchase and upkeep of one or more vehicles. We have started to solicit larger donations from foundations using a formal grant writing process.

   We are making good progress towards our $20,000 goal. Our initial fundraising during summer and fall 2007 has produced $5,000 from the Wurster Family Foundation, and we have a promise of a similar amount from the WHH Foundation.

2. Improve our financial record-keeping and transparency

   We are commited this season to improving our tracking of income and expenses, and to producing audited income and expense statements that will be made available on the website.

3. Run 12 snowboard day trips

   Working with our existing partners, we aim to run 12 day trips this winter, 10 or more in Portland and two or more in our Alaska program. We will also include at least one snowshoe hike day based on the amount of interest.

Goals for 2006/2007

1. Establish a Snowdays program in Alaska and complete 2 day trips

   Wasilla, Alaska is a small town in the Mat-Su Valley, about 45 minutes north of Anchorage. Jason and Tara Moore work with young people in Wasilla, and when they learned about Snowdays they approached us to ask how they could establish their own program.

   Jason is a science teacher at Wasilla Middle School, and Tara is a substance abuse counselor at Burchell High School. These schools both have a high percentage of students from low-income families. At Wasilla middle school, nearly 40% of students are on the free and reduced lunch program. Burchell is an alternative school for teen parents, and for students who were not successful in the traditional school environment.

   Snowdays founders Travis Parker and Jon Chester traveled to Wasilla in March 2007. They brought 20 sets of snowboard gear to get the new program off the ground, and Snowdays provided funding to run the day trips. Travis and Jon helped Jason, Tara, and local volunteers to run 2 snowboard day trips to the Alyeska resort.

   These first trips were a great success with the students, and Jason and Tara plan to expand the Alaska program for the 2007/2008 season.

2. Run 10 snowboard day trips

   During the winter we ran trips for our existing partners: Self-Enhancement Inc (SEI) and Trillium Charter School. We also provided our services to two new organizations, the Hacienda Community Development Corporation and the "I Have a Dream" Foundation of Oregon.

3. Add snowshoe hike days to our program

   Snowshoe hike days are our fallback when the mountain is closed due to bad weather. It is also a great alternative for kids who might be intimidated to snowboard due to their physical limitations.

   Next Adventure outdoor store in Portland supplies us with snowshoes free of charge. On March 23rd, 2007 we took students from Self Enhancement Inc. to Frog Lake snow park for out first snowshoe hike day.

Goals for 2005/2006 Season

1. Run 8 snowboard day trips over the winter

   We exceeded our goal by running 10 trips this winter, giving the Snowdays experience to over 150 deserving students.

2. Find more corporate sponsors

   Sponsors are vital to our program. Through corporate sponsors we can reduce our costs and also obtain larger donations. We have recently received sizable donations from Windell's, Roxy, Grenade, Bonfire, and Dakine, Snowdays now owns more than 30 full sets of outerwear to equip our students.

3. Expand our program to more schools

   By partnering with SEI, Snowdays now has access to the 2,000 students that SEI reaches with its charter school and after-school programs.

Goals for 2004/2005 Season

1. Raise enough money for our first trip

   Thanks to private donations and two fundraising events, we accomplished this on February 26th, 2005.

2. Have a successful day trip

   On Saturday March 12, 2005, Snow Days took ten Jefferson High School students to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. A great fun day for mentors and students

3. Raise enough money to fund a larger program next winter

   We raised almost $4,000 during the period January to July 2005. It is our goal to raise $9,000 by December, enough to fully fund 8 day trips with 15 students.

   Snowdays conducts regular fundraising events in the Portland area to promote awareness of our organization. We are also approaching boardsport companies in the Northwest to solicit donations.