SOS Outreach Gears Up for Bigger Season

TUESDAY, 29 APRIL 2008

PORTLAND, OR - With Mt. Hood still buried under more than 16 feet of snow, one local non-profit organization is already gearing up for an even bigger season next year. For the past eight years, SOS Outreach, an organization that builds character and self-esteem in at-risk and underprivileged youth through snowsports, has been quietly establishing itself in Oregon. This winter, nearly 100 young Oregonians participated in SOS snowboarding programs on Mt. Hood and in Central Oregon. SOS aims to double that number in the coming years through organic growth and an ever-increasing number of strategic partnerships.

The organization�s core offering is a five-day �Learn to Ride� program, which provides professional ski or snowboard instruction, lift tickets, and all necessary clothing and gear. �Learn to Ride� students also complete a curriculum that focuses on five core values of courage, discipline, integrity, wisdom, and compassion. The combined experience is designed to promote self-esteem, strengthen social competencies, and instill solid personal values - both on the hill and in everyday life. Successful �Learn to Ride� graduates have the opportunity to continue with SOS Outreach for an additional four years through a �University� program, which features a continuing curriculum and incorporates community service, mentoring, and life skills workshops.

The SOS mission is made possible through strategic partnerships with local mountain resorts and youth agencies. This season, Mt. Hood Skibowl joined Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline as the third resort on Mt. Hood to donate lift tickets, equipment rentals, and snowboard instruction to SOS students from the Portland area. Students and counselors from Portland YouthBuilders, Mt. Scott Learning Centers, Reynolds Learning Academy, and Janus Youth Programs, all metro-area alternative schools and youth agencies, participated in SOS programs this year. For many of these students, this is the first time they have had the opportunity to visit Mt. Hood and try a snowsport, and the experience can be truly life-changing.

Megan Barrett, a teacher at Mt. Scott Learning Centers, speaks to the positive impact she has observed during the school�s three-year partnership with SOS Outreach. �SOS encourages my students to support one another, and also teaches them self-reliance and discipline. It's incredible to watch students go from worry and doubt to happiness and pride when they make it down the hill for the first time without falling. At the end of five days, there is a bond between the kids and their teachers that lasts far beyond the mountain. Through SOS, for the first time in their lives, many of these kids are experiencing the pride and confidence that comes from personal success. Through SOS, these kids learn that they are the type of people who are capable of anything.�

As a seven-year veteran with SOS in Oregon, National Program Coordinator Malee Lucas has seen firsthand the power of the program. �The mountains are place of sanctuary from the challenges of daily life, and SOS offers a safe and supportive environment that makes a powerful difference in the lives of at-risk youth - one day of snowboarding at a time,� Lucas says.

As Lucas and a small team of dedicated volunteers and �Learn to Ride� graduates look forward to next season, they list several priorities that will help fuel the program�s growth in Oregon, including:

giving back to the community through SOS-sponsored service project on Mt. Hood this summer;
increasing community outreach to build awareness and expand the local volunteer base;
fostering additional in-kind and financial support by pursuing new strategic partnerships;
increasing enrollment in the SOS �University� program;
expanding the �Learn to Ride� program to additional Oregon resorts; and
maintaining positive, ongoing relationships with local resorts and youth agencies.

About SOS Outreach
SOS Outreach is a non-profit organization that builds character and self-esteem in at-risk and underprivileged youth through snowsports. Headquartered in Colorado�s Vail Valley, SOS Outreach offers multi-day snowboarding and skiing programs at 30 resorts in eight states. More than 2,500 kids participated in SOS programs during winter 2007-2008 - the organization�s 14th year.

The 2007-2008 ski season marked the organization�s eighth year in Oregon. This winter, nearly 100 young Oregonians participated in SOS Outreach �Learn To Ride� and �University� snowboarding programs on Mt. Hood - at Mt. Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Skibowl, and Timberline resorts - and in Central Oregon - at Hoodoo Mountain Resort and Willamette Pass.

For more information about SOS Outreach and its range of programs, visit www.sosoutreach.org.