Greetings from the Sierra Educational Foundation (SEF). We are the non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation (EIN: 68-0398268) whose mission is to educate and support Sierra at Tahoe youth snow sport athletes registered with a Sierra Teams program. And this year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary; we have been educating and supporting Sierra at Tahoe youth athletes since 2003! We believe that every Sierra Team’s youth athlete deserves the opportunity to pursue their passion and achieve their full potential, regardless of their economic or social circumstances.
In this year of our 20th anniversary, we are excited to announce that we are growing our membership and expanding our family to include everyone with a child registered with any Sierra Teams program, not just a Competition Team. That means that athletes in the Rippers program as well as those on the development teams will now have access to SEF membership benefits.
For those whose kids are on a Rippers Team or a Development Team, membership dues are $50 for one athlete or $75 for families with two or more athletes. All members who have paid their dues will get a complementary limited-edition sweatshirt for their athlete. These sweatshirts will not be made available to the public at large. Moreover, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase additional limited-edition sweatshirts for family, friends and other supporters of your athlete.
You can pay dues via PayPal or Venmo. Please see the links below. Thank you.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=6Z9AASVVJNJH8
https://www.venmo.com/u/sierraeducationalfoundation11
Also included with an SEF membership is access to the various educational opportunities SEF offers throughout the season, like the avalanche training we are planning for later this season or our planned informational sessions with our elite SEF ambassador athletes to learn more about their snow sport discipline and what it takes to compete at the highest levels. Details about these opportunities and many more to follow as they become available.
For those whose kids are on a Competition Team, your membership dues remain $100 for one athlete or $125 for families with two or more athletes. Not only do you get access to all the benefits described above, but your athlete will also become eligible to apply for scholarships to help offset the costs associated with training for and participating in local and out of state snow sports competitions. You’ll also get access to a mental performance coach, Nicole Vandehurst, this season. Nicole has years of experience as a mental performance coach in a number of sports and has even been the personal mental performance coach for our own Piper Arnold who will be competing in the Youth Olympics this month!
Also new this year is our own SEF Instagram account: @sierraeducationalfoundation. Follow us and, most importantly, send us pictures and videos of your kiddos as they train and progress on their Sierra Teams program this season. We want to celebrate all of our athletes’ achievements this year, big or small, personal or competitive. So please, send your videos and pics to SierraEducationalFoundation@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to make sure your kiddos all get a social media shout out!
Plus, we are excited to announce that we’ll be hosting, for the first time ever, two on-mountain fundraisers. The SEF Rail Jam, will be held at Sierra on January 28, and it promises to be a Serious Fun, UnSerious Competition, open to all skill levels. These events are community based and available for anyone 8 years and older. On-line registration to open the second week of January and participants pay only a $40 race fee for entry to this fun event (resort pass or ticket must be purchased from Sierra separately). We’ll also be holding a raffle based fundraiser during the awards ceremony, held immediately after the Rail Jam. Participants in the Rail Jam will receive five raffle tickets with their paid participant fee. Similarly, on March 16, we’ll be hosting our first annual SEF skier cross / boarder cross event. It too promises to be a Serious Fun UnSerious Competition open to all. More details on that as we get closer to the date.
Finally, if you are so inclined, we welcome you to virtually attend our board meetings, generally held on the third Wednesday of every month. Email us at SierraEducationalFoundation@gmail.com for a link to our meetings. And we’d love it if you would consider making an additional, tax deductible donation to SEF. As with all volunteer organizations, we can always use more help. To make a donation, go to www.sierrateams.org and use our PayPal link. Or, if you can donate your time, shoot us an email at SierraEducationalFoundation@gmail.com and let us know what interests you or what talents you can share with us to help make SEF the best we can be. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. SEF is grateful for your generosity and your partnership. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our young Sierra Teams athletes and our community.
Looking forward to a great season!
