Matching Pledge Total $30,000 for #GivingTuesday

For the third year, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, a nationally recognized nonprofit in Vermont that provides sports and recreational programming on a daily, year-round basis for people with disabilities, will participate in the world-recognized charitable giving campaign, #GivingTuesday, on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

It will harness the generosity of two donors: an anonymous Vermont Adaptive family participant, who has pledged a matching gift challenge of $20,000 to be used to leverage additional funds; and $10,000 from the Sills Family Foundation to bring the matching gift challenge total to $30,000, helping to mark the beginning celebration of the organization’s 30th anniversary this year. The past two years, the same anonymous family has given and pledged a total of $30,000 to help with #GivingTuesday fundraising.

This year’s goal is to raise more than $60,000 during this particular fundraising event to be used for adaptive sports programming and expensive equipment.

“We are honored to have this amazing donor family come to us again for the third year, giving and pledging a total of $50,000 over those years,” 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 $30,000 of matching donations to leverage additional money. These donations 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 fourth year in a row, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (this year Nov. 29) 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 event 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, #vtadaptive and #vermontadaptive.

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

To make a donation and then have it doubled, donate on our giving page. 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.