“For students of all abilities and ages – from 5 to 90 years old – our 230 volunteers provided 1,300 lessons to 367 students in 2018. All of our lessons are taught by volunteers…”
Since 1975, Ignite Adaptive Sports – a grantee of Community Foundation Boulder County – has been providing caring, safe, and fun adaptive winter snowsports opportunities for people with disabilities.
“The funding we receive from the Community Foundation is significant for us, and helps all our Boulder County residents access snowsports at Eldora Mountain Resort,” says Carol Nickell, Executive Director.
“For students of all abilities and ages – from 5 to 90 years old – our 230 volunteers provided 1,300 lessons to 367 students in 2018,” continues Carol, the only full-time staff member of the nationally recognized program. “All of our lessons are taught by volunteers, and we charge for lessons on a sliding scale to give all students access to the outdoors.”
Sometimes charging as little as $5 per lesson, the nonprofit uses student fees in part to keep its equipment current. Funding support also goes toward student scholarships and – most recently – Ignite Adaptive Sports purchased a second van to help bring veterans to the slopes, including wounded active duty and military veterans served through a U.S. Paralympic Military Program Ignite developed in collaboration with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Ignite’s students have varying disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, missing limbs, paralysis, visual impairments, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with many experiencing more than one type of disability.
“We offer alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, ski biking, and snowshoeing opportunities,” adds Carol. “And we retain 68% of our volunteers every year. Ignite wouldn’t exist without our volunteers.”
Indeed, Ignite’s dedicated team donates between 15-20K hours (worth more than $350K according to The Independent Sector) of their time and energy each year to provide private snow sport lessons to Coloradans living with disabilities. While other adaptive winter sport programs exist in our state, Ignite is the only comprehensive program located along the Front Range … and the only program accessible by RTD’s public transportation system.
Full and half-day snow-sport lessons run from January through March, and are held Thursdays through Sundays.
Testimonial
“Today my daughter, Chloe, had her very first ski experience and lesson. She watches her Daddy and brothers go skiing often, but we were always hesitant to put her into lessons knowing a group setting with instructors who don’t understand her SPD [Sensory Processing Disorder] would make it hard to have a good experience for her.
“My husband found your program and we signed her up for a lesson. It was AMAZING and she had a blast. Her instructors were absolutely the BEST! Thank you all for making Chloe’s first skiing experience such a great one!!!”
National Estate Planning Awareness Week is coming up from October 19 through 25. This comes on the heels of August’s Make-A-Will Month. A reminder to “make a will” is good advice, of course, but a thoughtful estate plan usually involves much more than a single document. And if charitable giving is important to you, making […]
Every year, we honor local community members making an impact across Boulder County through our Community Leadership Awards. These individuals embody leadership in all its forms, including exceptional volunteerism, advocacy on behalf of immigrants, gifts of time, treasure, and talent, and tenacious nonprofit leadership. Please join us in congratulating this year’s Community Leadership Award recipients: • Pat Shoemaker Volunteer Award: Ann Morales • Nino Gallo Leadership […]
A Public Affair on KGNU: Local Elections with Boulder County Clerk & Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick
This month, on KGNU’s A Public Affair with Community Foundation Boulder County, Carey is joined in KGNU’s new studio by Boulder County Clerk & Recorder, Molly Fitzpatrick. Together they talk about local elections, the Clerk & Recorder’s role in running Boulder County’s elections, and how the process works. They also discuss ways community members can […]
Community Foundation Boulder County and Boulder County Arts Alliance open Request for Proposals (RFP) for Boulder B-Sides Project
Pop-up art program will activate vacant storefronts and unexpected spaces during the 2027 Sundance Film Festival Download the full press release here >> BOULDER, Colo., Sept 18, 2026 – Community Foundation Boulder County, in partnership with Boulder County Arts Alliance and the City of Boulder, is inviting local artists and arts organizations to apply for […]
For the past five years, Nepali Jatra has been creating opportunities for people across Boulder County to experience, celebrate, and connect through Nepali arts and culture. Through music, dance, food, art, traditions, and other forms of artistic expression, Nepali Jatra celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Nepal while creating space for the broader community to learn and participate. At […]
“My husband found your program and we signed her up for a lesson. It was AMAZING and she had a blast. Her instructors were absolutely the BEST! Thank you all for making Chloe’s first skiing experience such a great one!!!”
