Volunteer - WHO CAN VOLUNTEER

Thank you for exploring the opportunity to volunteer with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. Vermont Adaptive has empowering outdoor sports and recreation programs for people of all ages and abilities. Each year over 500 volunteers of all ages dedicate their free time to help individuals with disabilities rediscover their abilities and achieve their dreams. These volunteers come from all walks of life - Doctors, retired folks, physical therapists, stay at home moms or dads, college students and interns, computer technicians, home schooled children and their parents, insurance agents, professional athletes, grocery store clerks, bank tellers, high school students, teachers - it’s an incredibly diverse group. Some volunteers donate 2 – 4 hours a month some donate 60 or more, whatever works best in their schedules. We appreciate every hour and every moment, it all makes a difference.

The benefits to our volunteers are many: an opportunity to interact with people of all ages from all walks of life, to learn more about different disabilities, the chance to teach someone a new sport, time to get out and enjoy nature, satisfaction of a job well done, the joy of seeing a smile on the face of someone that may be doing something they never thought possible. Teaching adaptive sports can be a life changing experience for a volunteer and their student and without the superb volunteer assistance we receive Vermont Adaptive would not be where it is today.

Vermont Adaptive has a fully developed and very active volunteer program for all of our year round activities. The winter adaptive ski program is our most highly utilized and visible program and consequently we use our largest number of volunteers during the winter season.. The lessons taught through our two Resort locations, Pico and Sugarbush, are visible to the local Killington and Waitsfield communities as well as to thousands of skiers and riders on the slopes.

Volunteers fill many different roles and have facilitated the success and growth of our organization for 17 years and have enabled us to provide quality services to individuals throughout the state. Vermont Adaptive deeply appreciates the continued support of the individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the state of Vermont and New England.

Junior Volunteer Program
After Vermont Adaptive’s first couple of seasons it became clear that we needed to look to the future to cultivate and educate the next generation and the Junior Volunteer (JV) Program was created. The purpose of this program is to introduce young people to adaptive sports and prepare them to become advocates and instructors of our future clients.

The Junior Volunteers are taught by Vermont Adaptive staff and volunteers in training clinics designed to introduce adaptive teaching techniques, technical skills and disability awareness and education to youth and new volunteers.

With the assistance of experienced volunteers, JV’s take an active role in every lesson that goes out. Jobs consist of everything from “gopher”, to blocker, to peer companion, to assistant instructor. Many of our JV’s start their career with us fulfilling a community service requirement for school. Some home schooled children start with our program to fill a requirement for Physical Education, some come to us through guidance counselors searching for a way to keep a child in school, finding ways for alternative education. No matter what the reason is that a child starts with our Junior Volunteer program many continue to work with our program because of the deep satisfaction they’ve found in working with special populations.

Junior Volunteer Requirements
• Must be 11 years of age
• Must provide own ski/snowboard equipment (winter program)
• Must be able to ski or ride safely enough to help out with lessons (winter programs)
• Must have Vermont Adaptive paperwork completed and necessary forms signed by parent or guardian prior to participating
• Must attend at least three training clinics and be approved by the trainer. ATS (American Teaching System) is mandatory (winter program).

The Next Step: Fill out the Volunteer Application and check out the upcoming training schedule. You will be contacted by a
Program Coordinator- if you have questions, give us a call.