Thursday, March 8, 2012 the High Fives Non-Profit Foundation ventured across the country to the Mad River Valley in Vermont for a series of events called A High Fives Weekend at Sugarbush Resort. With the help of Vermont North Ski Shop and Sugarbush Resort, the High Fives Foundation was able to present the B.A.S.I.C.S. Prevention and Awareness Program to four different groups, reaching over 1,000 kids, and run a successful Fat Ski-a-Thon with over 40 participants. High Fives traveled East with Roy Tuscany and Steve Wallace to put on the weekend and present the B.A.S.I.C.S. program to the Mad River Valley.
The weekends events kicked off at 7:45am on Friday with the B.A.S.I.C.S. Prevention and Awareness Program at Waitsfield Elementary School with over 100 kids in attendance. Following the presentation the kids asked great questions, and as young winter sports enthusiasts, each student seemed to take something from the presentation. High Fives next stop that afternoon was Fayston Elementary School, which also saw over 100 attentive students with equally good questions.
Saturday was a day of recreation as Win Smith and Sugarbush Resort provided the High Fives Foundation and Vermont North Ski Shop employees with early lift access to enjoy the fresh 10 inches of snow that had fallen the previous night. After the day of powder skiing High Fives Foundation headed to the Castlerock Pub at Sugarbush Resort to present the B.A.S.I.C.S. Prevention and Awareness Program to a group of over 100 skiers of all ages.
Early on a sunny Sunday morning, the High Fives Foundation and Vermont North Ski Shop employees arrived at Mount Ellen/Sugarbush Resort to begin setup for the Fat Ski-a-Thon. Over 40 people showed up to register for the event that had participants skiing as many runs as possible on the Summit Quad from 9am to 3pm. Donations were collected in advance by participants either on a per lap basis, or as a flat rate. After a long day of skiing, Harwood High School students Evan Theurer and Johnny Egan tied for the most runs with 33, and Chris Parkinson got the award for the most money raised with $1,690.00, all going to the High Fives Non-Profit Foundation.
The weekend was capped off with one final B.A.S.I.C.S. Prevention and Awareness Program at Harwood High School in Moretown, VT. The presentation saw around 700 high school students, and for such a large crowd, the auditorium was silent during the presentation. Founder of High Fives Foundation, Roy Tuscany graduated from Harwood in 1999 and was honored to present the B.A.S.I.C.S. program to his alma mater.
The High Fives Non-Profit Foundation would like to send out a huge thank you to Vermont North Ski Shop and Sugarbush Resort, as A High Fives Weekend at Sugarbush Resort never wouldve been possible without their efforts. The weekends events ended up raising over $15,000.00, which will be allocated to assist athletes who suffer a life altering injury work toward their respective recovery goals.
Top Five (Laps Skied)
(Tie) Evan Theurer & Johnny Egan: 33
Hayden James: 31
Madeline Lowe: 30
(Tie) Liz Harris, Nate Caldwell & Willy Egan: 29
(Tie) Wes Lowe & Madeine McGeorge, 28
Top Five (Money Raised)
Chris Parkinson, $1,690.00
Rubi Murphy, $870.00
Mae Murphy, $693.50
Brian Daigle, $671.50
James Donaldon, $630.00
