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| Adaptive Sports Center Capital and Endowment Campaign |
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We are half way there!
In October, the ASF realized its long awaited dream of having a permanent home for our programs when the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center opened for business. It was the Foundation’s goal to provide a place that allowed us to serve our students and their families in a warm, welcoming and accessible environment. It was also our goal to build a center that would allow us to grow and serve a greater number of disabled individuals each year, and to offer more innovative and progressive programs. As a result of still ongoing $4.5 million fundraising campaign, the ASF was able to realize the first part of its goal.
The 8,000 square foot Adaptive Sports Center far exceeds all our goals and expectations. The design of the structure allows our students to easily navigate through the building and out to the slopes. Having our own building has helped the program develop a sense of community for students and their families. In the center’s Great Room, families that had been coming to the Foundation for years met for the first time.
In the past, parents who didn’t ski spent hours in Windham Mountain’s cafeteria waiting for their children to finish their lessons, often unaware that there were other parents in the same situation. The Adaptive Sports Center brings these families together and provides a haven where they can relax and talk with each other, and share experiences and information. Together they triumph in a child’s accomplishments or offer encouragement to others who are having difficulty navigating the path to success. Our volunteer instructors feel a sense of community as well. They now have a place to mingle with fellow instructors, compare teaching techniques and make lasting friendships.
Disabled students are able to interact with each other in a way they never were able to before. A sixteen year old visually impaired girl was overheard getting advice on colleges from a 23 year old blind law student. Injured United States service men and women were seen comparing prosthetics with ASF volunteer instructors who are also amputees during the “Support Our Troops” event. Our race team, whose members have a range of disabilities, celebrated a teammate’s successful first run on the NASTAR race course at lunch time.
The construction of the Adaptive Sports Center was the first phase of a two phase campaign. We have now entered the Endowment phase of our $4.5 million Capital and Endowment Campaign. We need to raise the remaining $1.5 million to establish an endowment which will cover the additional expenses the Center has added to the ASF’s operations budget as well as off set the increasing expenses of our growing programs.
Please help us continue to help us provide a place where all abilities shine and support the ASF’s Endowment Fund. Thank you! |
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