Hope. Joyful. Fun. Dignity. Belonging. Proud. Accomplished. Becoming.
To matter. Enriched. Glorious. Fulfilled. Loved.
What do these words mean to you? To me, they’re words that express feelings we hear expressed at Outdoors for All and feedback we receive in emails and thank you notes from delivering our year-round adaptive and therapeutic recreation programs.
Genuine words. Powerful words. Words that matter to the individual. Words that matter to their families. Words that matter to all of us.
How many times have I been present to see mile-wide sized smiles from participants — and volunteers — after sharing a program day with Outdoors for All? And how many times have those smiles been so ever-present despite sometimes rather wet weather conditions?
Or how about the number of sets of eyes I’ve seen well up with tears of joy after conquering a rock wall or riding an adaptive cycle for the first time? Or when a family member expresses how much a successful-beyond-their-dreams snowboard lesson has meant to their daughter or son – and, as a result, to their whole family? How many times my own eyes have welled up with tears at getting to learn about or share some of these experiences personally with them?
Outdoors for All’s mission does matter to so many people. We are deeply thankful for your support in sustaining and growing our mission in the community. Whether you’re involved as a participant, family member, volunteer, donor or some other role – our mission does matter.
We’re working hard to continue to improve the delivery of our recreation programs and expand these programs in various ways, too. Thanks for your participation to help us do so in the past – and thanks for your involvement as we move forward in the new year to continue to do so.
See you on the snow this winter!
Ed