Where else but in Aspen can you hike 782 vertical feet to an elevation of 12,392 feet while carrying skis on your back, then descend 2,000 feet in a powder-filled bowl, arriving at a wonderful champagne lunch complete with fondue, fine wine, great music, and dancing, along with 50 other fun-hogs? And all in the name of philanthropy!
You can read a recent Aspen Times article here.
That describes our 4th Annual Room to Read ski–luncheon at Cloud-9, Aspen Highlands, with guest speaker Room to Read founder, John Wood.
The video below shows how much fun we had raising over $35,000 that will provide educational support for thousands more children in the developing world. Not a bad beginning for 2016!
For the video, click here.
Here’s the ultimate “Anything is Possible in Aspen” fact; in 2015 Aspen was the #2 fundraising chapter in N. America (after NYC) with a total of over $700,000 raised! That is thanks to the most awesome Chapter volunteers and our extraordinarily generous donors.
As you may have read in my previous blogs, Room to Read has been my philanthropic passion for the last 10 years and I am so proud of what this small-town chapter has achieved in fundraising – but more importantly, I’m very touched by how compassionate the Aspen community is when it comes to the needs of people in less fortunate parts of the world, where the very basic educational needs are necessary for these people to pull themselves out of poverty.
A group of us on a Room to Read bike trek through Vietnam and Cambodia were able to make a very positive impact on children and families we’ve never met and who aren’t as fortunate as us. Hats off to another great Aspen effort in helping to make the world a better place!
Since moving to the Aspen Valley in 2008 my mantra has been “In Aspen, anything is possible”. I think that this event, coupled with the success of our local chapter and many other lifestyle indicators referred to in my previous blogs, has confirmed that this awesome community is second to none when it comes to making extraordinary things happen, every day.
I think this mantra will be the theme of my upcoming 2016 blogs so stay tuned!
Susan
