Shem RooseChill Foundation offers empowerment through boardsports
Since 1995, the Chill Foundation has helped more than 25,000 young people overcome challenges through many types of board-sports. Started by Burton Snowboard founders Jake and Donna Carpenter, the Chill Foundation works with social service agencies, mental health agencies, foster care programs, juvenile justice programs, and schools in local communities to select youth participants who can learn the art of boarding regardless of their location, according to Chill board member Bo Twiggs.
“These are opportunities for growth, exploration, challenge and enjoyment for people that exist all over the place,” he said. “When you talk about snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding and stand up paddle boarding. . . anywhere there is a body of water, a bit of concrete, a mountain, or even a hill with some snow on it there’s an opportunity for a kid who hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to really maximize their growth potential.”
To make such an impact on an international scale, Chill organizes many fundraiser events each year with one of their largest being the Chill Golf Tournament at Vermont National Country Club in Burlington Vermont. In their 20th Annual Golf Tournament last week, Chill was able to raise an amazing $210,000 for youth development programs that will allow the organization to continue to have a positive impact on youth across the globe.
As a longtime sponsor of the Chill Golf Tournament, Vectorply was on-hand on Monday, August 30th to take part in such a vital fundraiser. According to Twiggs, the support of sponsors will allow Chill to continue to grow domestically and internationally, enabling even more youth to grow innately through board-sports.
“We’re beginning a really significant international expansion. Again, any place there’s a mountain we know, we have a model that works, and we are just scratching the surface in terms of the number of people we can impact,” he said. “The other piece that is on the horizon for us is growing our length of engagement with kiddos and strengthening the impact we can have on their lives beyond just our programing. We’d love to be in a place where we are helping these kids move towards careers and move into leadership in outdoor sports, and we are so grateful for your support.”
