Press Releases
WinterKids Celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week!
April 22, 2010
WinterKids hosted a spring picnic on Sunday, April 18th to recognize and appreciate its dedicated volunteers. This year, WinterKids surpassed its goal of volunteer involvement with 110 volunteers, who gave over 1,000 hours of service. WinterKids volunteers assist in 5 different roles: Academics, Agents, Ambassadors, Associates, and Assistants to make up what is referred to as the "A-Team".
Academics volunteers helped to reach elementary school children by facilitating Active Academics Workshops. Passport and FunPass Agents reached out to families to raise awareness about opportunities for winter fun in Maine. Ambassadors enabled WinterKids to attend more public events to spread the word of its mission, programs, and volunteer opportunities.
Associates in the WinterKids office helped out with a wide range of administrative tasks throughout the fall and winter. Assistants helped WinterKids reach the immigrant and refugee communities in Portland at the Welcome to Winter Festival in Payson Park. Assistants also helped WinterKids offer first-time ski and snowboard lessons to 83 kids and adults during Cooper Campbell Day at Shawnee Peak.
WinterKids' mission is to help children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor, winter activity. WinterKids has been inspiring a love for winter activity in thousands of Maine children and families, and numerous schools and communities since 2000. With the support and hard work of volunteers, WinterKids will continue to positively impact the people of Maine.
Immigrant Families Receive "Welcome to Winter" at Portland Festival
January 22, 2010
Hundreds of immigrant and refugee families new to Maine will experience the thrill of sledding and snowshoeing for the first time at the 6th annual WinterKids Welcome To Winter Festival, a free event in Portland's Payson Park on Saturday January 30, 2010, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Families that have recently arrived in Maine may be experiencing winter for the first time. Fear of the cold climate and unfamiliarity with winter recreation opportunities may keep new residents inside during Maine's longest season. At the Welcome to Winter Festival, WinterKids and the Portland Public Schools Multilingual and Multicultural Center will share fun activities to show new Mainers how to stay warm and how to enjoy the snow outdoors.
This year, Portland's popular Welcome To Winter Festival gained support from the U.S. Census Bureau, which has donated hats and neck warmers for those participating on January 30. Multilingual Census staff will help educate Portland's international community about the upcoming 2010 Census. Families from Somali, Sudan, Vietnam, and other regions will learn what the Census is, why their participation is needed, and how the Census results can benefit their community and the entire state of Maine.
L.L.Bean's Outdoor Discovery School staff will bring snowshoes for trekking and offer tips for dressing in cold weather. Handmade mittens were donated by The KnitWits and Portland Rotary Club. Paricon has donated Flexible Flyer sleds so that families can slide down the hill in Payson Park, to which the City of Portland has added man-made snow.
Let's Go! and Healthy Portland will lead games that keep children physically active. Oakie, the Oakhurst Dairy mascot, will give away milk samples. Hannaford Supermarkets is providing healthy snacks and Time Warner Cable is serving hot chocolate to keep the fun warm.
Jill Duson, Portland's former mayor, will welcome participants, and Norm Karkos, of Channel 8 News, will give away door prizes donated by TD Bank. WinterKids volunteers will help children build snowmen, teach sledding safety, and tend the fire pit.
WinterKids offers opportunities for all children -- including Maine's newest residents to experience the joys and benefits of healthy, outdoor winter activity!
WinterKids is the nonprofit organization that helps Maine children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun outdoor, winter activity. WinterKids sponsors include Hannaford Supermarkets, Healthy Maine Partnerships, TD Bank, and Time Warner Cable. For more information, please visit www.winterkids.org.
WinterKids Celebrates Cooper Campbell Day at Shawnee Peak
December 10, 2009
WinterKids will kick off the 2009-2010 winter season with Cooper Campbell Day, a fun, fast-paced, on-mountain event for kids and their families at Shawnee Peak in Bridgton from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 20th.
The festival will celebrate the life of Cooper Campbell, of Scarborough, who was killed by a drunk driver on the Maine Turnpike in April 2008. According to Steve Campbell, Cooper's father, fifteen-year-old Cooper was an avid skier and snowboarder who "enjoyed winter with his whole heart and lived by the words ‘live, love, listen, laugh, learn, and leave a mark.'"
WinterKids and Shawnee Peak will help "leave a mark" for Cooper by bringing kids and families out on the slopes to learn and have fun together. Shawnee Peak has generously offered 75 pre-registered children and adults the chance to try skiing and snowboarding for the very first time, with free lessons, rentals, and lift tickets.
"Cooper Campbell was a true winter kid," said Fran Mullin, Executive Director of WinterKids. "His zest for life and adventure is truly inspiring, and we're excited to give families the opportunity to try some of the winter sports Cooper loved!"
WinterKids invites all families to join the fun at Cooper Campbell Day. In addition to enjoying healthy outdoor activity, kids and their families will enjoy music, fun games, fabulous door prizes, hot chocolate, snacks, and more throughout the day.
WinterKids is the nonprofit organization that helps children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity. WinterKids sponsors include Hannaford Supermarkets, Healthy Maine Partnerships, TD Bank, and Time Warner Cable. For more information about WinterKids, please visit www.winterkids.org.
WinterKids Receives Grant from New Balance Foundation
September 17, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine—WinterKids was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the New Balance Foundation, to provide healthy and active outdoor opportunities for schools and families in the communities of Skowhegan, Norridgewock and Norway throughout the 2009-2010 winter season.
This winter will mark the fourth year of the exciting partnership between WinterKids and the New Balance Foundation. The collaboration aims to alleviate childhood obesity in the high-need towns by increasing outdoor winter activity for students and their families.
“We are very excited to continue our work with the New Balance Foundation,” explained Fran Mullin, WinterKids’ Executive Director. “Together, we can help children get outside and active more often throughout the winter months. I hope the kids in these communities will have fun as they develop some healthy lifelong habits.”
Funding from the New Balance Foundation will provide innovative WinterKids programs for students, families and teachers in the three towns, including the celebrated WinterKids Active Academics Workshops for all 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade classes and WinterKids Passports for all 5th and 6th graders. The WinterKids Passport, available to all Maine 5th, 6th and 7th graders, offers kids free and discounted tickets, lessons and rentals at outdoor recreation areas across the state, including downhill ski areas, cross country ski centers and ice skating arenas.
“WinterKids’ impact in Norway and the Skowhegan area grows each year,” said Mullin. “It’s awesome to see entire communities—including kids, parents, teachers and volunteers—come together for healthy winter fun with WinterKids!”
For 28 years, the New Balance Foundation has supported charitable organizations whose humanitarian efforts work for the betterment of children and communities. At the heart of New Balance Foundation’s mission is the prevention of childhood obesity. For more information, please visit www.newbalancefoundation.org.
WinterKids is the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Maine children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity. WinterKids’ sponsors include Hannaford Supermarkets, Healthy Maine Partnerships, TD Banknorth and Time Warner Cable. For more information, please visit www.winterkids.org.
WinterKids Hosts An Evening with Seth Wescott
June 15, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine—What do you get when you combine the snowy Maine landscape and a kid with a plastic skateboard but no TV? Olympic Gold – that’s what.
Seth Wescott, Olympic Gold Medalist and WinterKids spokesperson, will speak about growing up as a young snowboarder and achieving his dreams, at The Woodlands Club in Falmouth on Wednesday, June 17th, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Wescott, Maine’s own Olympic Gold Medalist in Snowboardcross, is a longtime supporter and spokesperson for WinterKids, the nonprofit organization whose mission is to help children develop lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity. The fundraising event will bring together WinterKids’ sponsors, community supporters, friends, volunteers, donors, staff and board of directors for the first time in the organization’s 12-year history. Event highlights will include a winter-themed silent auction and remarks from Wescott himself about growing up as a “winter kid” in the western mountains of Maine.
Margaret Wescott, Seth’s mother, said, “Seth had a vision; he knew what he loved and knew what he wanted. The capacity to do anything was always part of our family philosophy. Money (or lack of it) was never an excuse not to go out and do something.”
Seth Wescott said, “I feel like I had such great opportunities growing up to ski and snowboard in the Maine mountains, so I am glad to give back by reaching out to kids and encouraging them to get outside and participate in healthy winter sports.”
WinterKids friend and event host, Steve Campbell, will conclude the event with a tribute to his son, Cooper, who was killed by a drunk driver on the Maine Turnpike one year ago. Fifteen-year-old Cooper Campbell was a kid who loved skiing and snowboarding, and according to his father, Steve, “Cooper enjoyed winter with his whole heart.”“Cooper lived by the words ‘live, love, listen, laugh, learn, and leave a mark,’” and, in celebration of his son’s life, Steve Campbell will be giving a gift of $10,000 to WinterKids on June 17.
WinterKids Executive Director Fran Mullin said, “We are overwhelmed by Steve’s thoughtful and heart-felt gift in honor of his son, Cooper, who was a real ‘winter kid.’ Since Cooper wanted to “leave a mark,” our nonprofit organization is planning a very exciting “Cooper Campbell Ski and Snowboard Day” that will bring kids and families out on the slopes to learn and have fun together this coming winter.”
WinterKids would like to thank the evening’s Host Committee for making the event possible: Severin and Cynthia Beliveau; Bill and Irene Berry; Meredith Burgess and Doug Stewart; Steve Campbell; Fred and Judy Forsley; Denise and Scott Karkos; George and Virginia Kiesewetter; Jane Manheimer; Bob and Susan Peixotto; Doug and Lauren Sanford; Ed and Priscilla Simmons; Rory and Linda Strunk; Greg Sweetser and Debby Freeman; Peter Troast; and, Larry Wold.
WinterKids is the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Maine children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity. WinterKids sponsors include Hannaford Supermarkets, Healthy Maine Partnerships, TD Banknorth, and Time Warner Cable. For more information about WinterKids, visit the website at www.winterkids.org.
WinterKids Elects New Members to Board of Directors
June 2, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine: WinterKids in Portland recently elected the following to its board of directors: Alexa Dayton, director of communications and development at Maine Huts & Trails in Kingfield; Andy Hamblett, executive director of the Boothbay Region YMCA in Boothbay Harbor; Eric Kolben, financial advisor at UBS in Portland; and Michael Peisner, attorney at Curtis Thaxter Stevens Broder & Micoleau LLC in Portland.
WinterKids is the nonprofit organization committed to helping children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity. More information about WinterKids can be found online at www.winterkids.org.
