WinterKids helps children develop healthy lifelong habits through education and fun, outdoor winter activity. We create opportunities for children to be active, vibrant and healthy in the outdoors.
Our Story
WinterKids began in 1997 as part of the Ski Maine Association with a Learn to Ski program for fifth graders. With the increasing rates of childhood obesity and the downward trend in physical fitness in Maine and across the country, there was an opportunity to help children and families enjoy healthy and fun outdoor winter lifestyles while nurturing a connection to the natural environment, at home, at school, and in the communities in which they live.
In 2000, WinterKids became an independent non-profit and continues to develop and expand innovative health education programs for kids in the winter and year-round.
WinterKids App Family Member Laurie Theberge’s Winning 2021/22 Photo Contest Submission, taken at Black Mountain of Maine
Our Impact
WinterKids is the only nonprofit in Maine dedicated exclusively to increasing outdoor physical activity in children and families during our longest, most sedentary season.
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Students, Teachers and Families Impacted in Maine & New Hampshire since 2010!
FY23
June 1, 2022-May 31, 2023
FY22
June 1, 2021-May 31, 2022
FY21
June 1, 2020-May 31, 2021
FY20
June 1, 2019-May 31, 2020
FY19
June 1, 2018-May 31, 2019
Students at the Dedham School in Dedham, Maine, getting outside as part of the WinterKids 5th Anniversary Winter Games Play-Along Track
The WinterKids Team is Passionate about Helping Kids to be Active Outdoors!
It takes unique people to fill important positions in a small nonprofit with such a large reach. Our team excels at what we do and takes great pride in our programs. We work hard. We have fun. We laugh a lot. We love winter. And we love kids!
Julie Mulkern
Executive Director
Marion Doyle
Education Director
Josh Harrington
Family Programs & Outreach Manager
Sterlynn Marx
Events & Sponsorships Manager
Tom Long
Program Manager
Melissa Ferrigno
Administrative & Volunteer Manager
Kristel Hayes
Marketing Manager
WinterKids Board of Directors
Officers
Parker Swenson
President
Executive Committee Chair
Project Manager, Operations, Diversified Communications
Chad Creelman
Vice President
Downhill 24 Committee Chair
Senior Director, Sales Operation and Marketing Analytics, WEX
Members
Justin Brewer
Performance Manager, Pike Industries
Jennifer Flynn
Mountain Mayhem Committee Chair
Family Nurse Practitioner, Pediatrics, Cape Integrative Health
Dirk Gouwens
Executive Director, Ski Maine Association
Tom Fremont-Smith
Managing Partner, Bigelow Mountain Partners, LLC
Stephen Lindsay
WinterKids App Committee Chair
Joe Lajoie
Vice President, Lajoie Brothers, Inc., Construction & Design Firm
Sarah Long
Program Committee Chair
Meteorologist, WMTW
Jillian Rich
Marketing Committee Chair
Vice President, Marketing Supervisor, Bangor Savings Bank
Gabe Weiss
Governance Committee Chair
Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Emburse
Advisory Board
Julia Clukey
Maine Olympic Luger
Seth Wescott
2-time Maine Olympic Gold Medalist in Snowboardcross
Major Community Sponsor
L.L. Bean and WinterKids have been partners for 17 years. Given its rich outdoor heritage, L.L. Bean supports nonprofits that engage more young people in activities such as camping, hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. L.L. Bean applauds WinterKids for our efforts in creating lifelong outdoor enthusiasts! In addition to their annual sponsorship of our programs in Maine & New Hampshire, L.L. Bean is involved with WinterKids through board membership and community events. The Outdoor Discovery School offers snowshoe lessons at our Welcome to Winter Festival and L.L.Bean employees participate in the WinterKids Downhill 24 at Sugarloaf. L.L. Bean has given more than $14 million to local, state, regional, and national outdoor conservation and recreation organizations in the last ten years.
Supporting Sponsors
Agren is proud to be working with WinterKids again this year. Since 1975, Maine’s largest independently owned appliance and mattress retailer has been serving Maine communities. Today, with six locations, community involvement and charitable participation within our communities remain core values. Agren is excited to support an organization focused on creating healthy habits and opportunities for the children of Maine.
We strive to give back to the communities in our service area by undertaking responsibilities in the neighborhoods where we work, in the schools we support, and in the environment. Our corporate sponsorship and community service programs are designed with one goal in mind: to care for the people we serve.
Harvard Pilgrim is proud to support WinterKids.
Harvard Pilgrim and its family of companies provide health benefit plans, programs and services to more than 3 million customers in New England and beyond. A leading not-for-profit health services company, we guide our members – and the communities we serve – to better health.
WEX believes that corporate giving is both an opportunity and a responsibility to give back to our local communities. The company’s giving is centered at its heart and headquarters in South Portland, focusing on larger gifts that benefit greater Portland and the state of Maine as a whole. WinterKids and WEX have partnered for several years through programming and event initiatives. WEX employees have a large team presence at the WinterKids Downhill 24, and believe in long-term effective partnerships with the nonprofits they support.
Zachau Construction has been a proud sponsor of WinterKids since 2016 and has a large presence at the Downhill 24, having helped found the Skin-up division.
Zachau Construction is one of Southern Maine’s leading commercial construction management companies, working with the state’s most recognized corporations, institutions, and non-profits. Above all else, their dedication to maintaining honest relationships and partnerships has carried them from their founding in 1969 by Earle Zachau into where they are today. As a 3rd-generation company, they care deeply about our people, projects, and community.
Exclusive Television Partner
WMTW is the official television partner of WinterKids. WMTW, Maine’s Total Weather and News, serves the Portland television market with studios in Westbrook. Channel 8 WMTW won a dozen honors at the 2015 Maine Association of Broadcasters annual awards ceremonies. From PSAs to on-air talent hosting our events, WMTW supports WinterKids throughout the year.
Thank you to all of our 2022/23 sponsors!
Recent Press Releases
Recent Media Coverage
July 25, 2023
WinterKids’ mountain bike, trail running fundraiser set for Greenwood Sept. 9
via CentralMaine.com
Read More
July 21, 2023
Scarborough Community Services applies for WinterKids grant
via Portland Press Herald
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May 24, 2023
WinterKids to Grant $50,000 to Maine organizations through the Downhill 24 Outdoor Fund
via The Irregular
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February 16, 2023
Williams-Cone Elementary snags second place in WinterKids Winter Games
via PressHerald
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February 15, 2023
WinterKids Winter Games wraps up: Winterport school takes home top prize
via WMTW-TV
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February 15, 2023
WinterKids announces this year’s Winter Games winners
via News Center Maine
Read More
February 15, 2023
Topsham takes silver in Winterkids Winter Games
via Portland Press Herald
Read More
February 15, 2023
WinterKids Winter Games: Leroy H. Smith School wins gold!
via Village Soup
Read More
Our Areas of Impact
Students at Leroy-H.-Smith-School in Winterport, Maine, enjoying a day on the ice as part of the 2022 WinterKids Winter Games Competitive Track
WinterKids is kid-centered and teacher-approved!
WinterKids is evidence-based and results-driven!
WinterKids is backyards, playgrounds, and mountains!
Get Involved
Get Involved
There are so many different ways to support WinterKids! From donations and volunteering to Clink Bags & Amazon Smile. Learn all the different ways you can help!