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Blackhawk's Outreach Program Gets Madison Area Youth Out Skiing
Blackhawk Ski Club hosts an after school cross country ski program for Madison area youth who normally wouldn't get a chance to ski.
It's almost 4:00 on a Wednesday afternoon at Blackhawk Ski Club and in an instant, the East Chalet is flooded with the cheerful voices of kids who are pouring in the door.
Walter Meanwell, one of the lead volunteers, has come a half an hour early to start a fire and set out food for the children who have piled in.
This is now what typical Wednesday afternoons in January and February look like at Blackhawk with the new Miles of Smiles program.
The Miles of Smiles program is led by Blackhawk Board Member Steve Cohan and implemented with the help of the Madison School and Community Recreation and the Madison Nordic Ski Club.
The participants, children ages six to 12, come from the Madison School and Community Recreation after school program that offers different kinds of activities for the children: cross country skiing at Blackhawk being one of them. Volunteers from Blackhawk Ski Club and Madison Nordic Ski Club teach the kids how to cross country ski. Some of the volunteers drive over an hour to get to Blackhawk.
"This program provides at risk kids with an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in winter when they would otherwise be pent up inside. Furthermore, all participants learned to ski and hopefully some will continue to ski as they grow up. No doubt, as a result of the program, all kids now have a better appreciation for winter," said Cohan.
Many of the kids who come to the after school program come from low income families and do not have proper winter outerwear so winter clothing was donated by Blackhawk and Madison Nordic Ski families, bike clubs around Madison, REI, Fontana and Goodwill Industries of South Central Wisconsin, Inc.
"We scrounge clothes from wherever we can get them," Meanwell said.
In addition, Blackhawk has 50 pairs of cross country skis for the children thanks to a donation from Susan Remington and other cross country families.
"Without the equipment, none of these kids would be able to ski," Meanwell said.
The kids ski around with instructors playing games on skis, doing obstacle courses and skiing the trails until about 6:00 p.m.
And the kids love it.
"I've wanted to try skiing for a while, but I've never really got a chance," ten year old Robin said.
"You get to ski and you get to meet new people," eight year old Shawntay said was her favorite part about the program. "It's really fun."
"All we're trying to do is expose them to a totally different setting than they would normally be exposed to and show them that they can have fun in the winter, outside, regardless of the weather," Meanwell said.
"Wouldn't it be great if a few participants in the program grow up to become great skiers," said Cohan, "The Club can proudly say they got their start at Blackhawk."
"It's been a wonderful year for the program," Meanwell added. "We've got just the greatest volunteers on earth," he said giving special thanks to Mark Torresani, Steve Cohan and Louise Jones who have extended special efforts to put the program together.
People interested in volunteering can contact Louise Jones at this email address.
written by Hayley Jacobs
