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For the fourth year, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, a nationally recognized nonprofit in Vermont that provides sports and recreational programming on a daily, year-round basis to people with disabilities, will participate in the world-recognized charitable giving campaign, #GivingTuesday, on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

It will harness the generosity of two donors: an anonymous Vermont Adaptive family participant, who has donated a challenge pledge of $30,000 to be used to leverage additional funds; and $10,000 from the Sills Family Foundation (Sarah DeBlois) to bring the matching gift challenge total to $40,000. This means that every donation will be matched up to $40,000. The past three years, the same anonymous family has awarded a challenge pledge to Vermont Adaptive for help with #GivingTuesday fundraising. This is the second year that the Sills Family Foundation is generously participating as well.

This year’s #GivingTuesday goal is to raise more than $80,000 for adaptive sports programming and expensive equipment. The organization must raise $300,000 in 2018, which includes $75,000 specific for veterans’ programs, in order to provide top-notch sports and recreational outings year-round to its participants, regardless of their ability to pay.

“We are honored to have this amazing donor family come to us again for the fourth year,” said Erin Fernandez, executive director of Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. “The additional gift from the Sills Family Foundation helps us kick off an incredible season of giving-with $40,000 of matching pledges to leverage additional money. These pledges also give 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 behavioral disabilities. All ages. All abilities. It’s a wonderful way for people to pay it forward and spread the holiday cheer.”

For the fifth year in a row, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (this year Nov. 28) is a global day dedicated to giving back. #GivingTuesday follows Black Friday 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 national campaign 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, #GivingVermontAdaptive, #vtadaptive and #vermontadaptive.

Vermont Adaptive also will share stories through audio, video and photos, showcasing what the organization means to its participants, volunteers, and donors.

To make a donation and then have it doubled, donate online at vermontadaptive.org. Phone donations can be made with a credit card by calling 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.