At Vermont Adaptive, our community thrives on connection—the kind built over snowy slopes, high-fives, shared gear, and stories passed from one season to the next. For Jimmy Keith, that connection started nearly 25 years ago, when he learned to ski with us when he was just three.
Back then, Vermont Adaptive’s program at Sugarbush Resort/Mt. Ellen was “kind of like a closet size,” Jimmy recalls, referring to the borrowed space Vermont Adaptive used in the base lodge at Mt. Ellen. “And now seeing it grow is kind of really cool.” Jimmy—sometimes James, sometimes Jimmy James, depending on your mood—has grown with us, too. Today, at 27, he volunteers alongside the same instructors who helped him learn to carve turns as a child.
“I love being outdoors, and when I ski, I don’t really think about anything,” he says. “I just think about the snow and being with my family and enjoying my time—and going super, super fast… but controllably fast.”
Jimmy’s connection to Vermont Adaptive is deeply rooted in his family. He grew up skiing with them, and now his sister, Sarah, is Vermont Adaptive’s volunteer and outreach coordinator. Volunteering alongside her has brought things full circle. “When I volunteered,” Jimmy says, “it was like a full-circle moment in my mind, because being someone that actually was taught here and now, I’m like, skiing and assisting and helping people.”
Jimmy brings his whole self to everything he does—whether he’s teaching preschoolers to swim at the YMCA, powerlifting in preparation for the 2026 USA Games, or acting in a movie (yes, that movie—Champions with Woody Harrelson). And he brings that same energy, humor, and heart to the Vermont Adaptive community.
“Everyone who works at Vermont Adaptive, and everyone who sees it, brings something,” he says. “Whenever someone’s feeling down, the whole room can brighten your day.”
That’s part of what The Things We Share is all about—how one person’s presence, effort, or story can lift up the whole community. For Jimmy, sharing also means giving back. He generously donated some of his movie royalties to Vermont Adaptive to help purchase equipment—“so other people have a chance to benefit from where I benefited.”
“I’m still trying to donate a whole lot more,” he says, “because it means a lot to me, and I want everybody who is new to it to enjoy it and make the family that I’ve made.”
Today on #GivingTuesday, Jimmy reminds us of what we really share: time, humor, presence, encouragement. His hope is simple: to be “the best friend that I can to a lot of new people and making new friends… because wherever I go, I make friends.”
Jimmy’s story is just one of many at Vermont Adaptive, and yet it carries a message: that when we show up for each other, when we share what we can—our time, our energy, a donation—we help build a space where everyone can belong.
Your gift this year has the same transformative power that adaptive sports and recreation has. Please consider a donation if you can. Thank you.
Watch and listen to Jimmy’s video on our YouTube channel.
Learn more about how you can help Vermont Adaptive capture an additional $110,000 on #GivingTuesday, Dec. 2. Click Here