6 years, 9 selections, $8,591 in donations
Since June 2018, WinterKids Education Foundation has been selected to benefit from the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs nine times at five different Hannaford locations. In total, the organization has received $8,591 to continue fostering meaningful connections to the outdoors for youth and families.
Tell us about WinterKids Education Foundation.
We began in 1997 as part of the Ski Maine Association, focusing solely on fifth graders. In August of 2000, we became an independent nonprofit. We extended our programming to include resources that encourage outdoor learning and recreation for children and families and provide materials for teachers across the entire state. In addition, we stuck to our roots and continued the skiing and snowboarding piece of it all. We’ve grown and adapted to the climate over the years. Ultimately, we have developed into an organization dedicated to helping children in Maine develop healthy lifelong habits through outdoor winter activities.
Ultimately, we have developed into an organization dedicated to helping children in Maine develop healthy lifelong habits through outdoor winter activities.
What services do you provide to the community?
Starting with our winter programming, we host Welcome to Winter, a free festival at Lost Valley Ski Area in Auburn, Maine. Historically, it happened in Payson Park in Portland, but the great part about Lost Valley is that we can guarantee snow. The event is designed to introduce people to different winter activities they can do as a family within their community. We also provide limited outdoor gear to people who come too. With this gear, we can lead people through demonstrations on how to appropriately layer to stay warm and what waterproof materials look like.
It’s a great community-building experience. We offer snowshoeing and cross-country ski demos, and Lost Valley provides free ski and snowboard lessons. We also have a smores bar around the campfire. Our partners, such as Central Maine Adaptive and Teens to Trails, join us. It is a great way to introduce new Mainers to all the fun winter can bring. We saw a number of school groups come last year and fully enjoy themselves belly sledding down the hill. All the kids on the bunny slope and magic carpet had so much fun.
In January, our Winter Games program kicks off. This four-week program is built around our Learn Outside Guide, a full guide of educational lesson plans that are upheld to the Maine Early Learning and Development standards. This playbook is full of various activities that the program walks through with week-by-week themes. For example, this season the theme was weather, and the program focused on precipitation, wind, clouds, and temperature. Each lesson in the playbook demonstrates different ways to bring the classroom outside and is rooted in math, science, literature, or art.
There are two Winter Games tracks. The first track is competitive with 16 school participating for grant funding from $5,000-$500. Participating schools are required to engage all faculty, the school community, and greater community members outside of regular school hours. This track is designed to be a true community-building and educational program. The second track is less strict and offers the same support as the competitive track. Through just this one program, we have reached 10,218 kids in elementary schools across Maine this season.
Through just this one program, we have reached 10,218 kids in elementary schools across Maine this season.
We also work with community organizations to support outings through financial funding. For example, this year, we sponsored three Learn to Ski trips. Next year, we plan to broaden this focus by including more winter activities. We host our 24-hour ski-a-thon as a fundraising event every February at Sugarloaf. Through all our programs, our goal is to get people in love with the outdoors.
On top of all this, we have a mobile app to offer deals for kids. These offers are available through our partnerships with area resorts and local mountains. Typically, deals include a free junior lift ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket or discounts from ski shops. This year, we added information about where to find trails. If they are on the app, we want to give them all the information we can to help them get outside and enjoy in a number of ways.
How has the WinterKids Education Foundation used the donations from the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs to further its mission?
The funds from the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs are used for general operations. It supports programs that keep kids and children outdoors. These donations help us provide learning materials to schools and make sure that teachers have the resources they need to bring their classrooms outside and keep kids moving.
These funds also help sponsor our Snowshoe Story Walk. We have a great partnership with L.L. Bean and a bank of snowshoes here that kids can rent out. Kids can then read a story on large storyboards as they walk along in their snowshoes.
The support from Hannaford really plays a key part in these programs. We count on this partnership when we look at the budget. We are so grateful to have community partners like Hannaford and feel fortunate to have a consistent relationship that we can rely on to help us deliver and further our work.
We are so grateful to have community partners like Hannaford and feel fortunate to have a consistent relationship that we can rely on to help us deliver and further our work.
Tell us a story about a program, service, or initiative that the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs have supported.
The difference these programs are making is really reflected in the Winter Games program. With the competitive track, we were able to have Channel 8 News bring its Weather at Your School program to all 16 schools this year.
During the final week of the games, the Miller School in Scarborough had several inches of snow. The meteorologist joined them on an 8-degree day, and still, 50 students and families came out that morning. The students said they felt famous because they got to be on TV with the meteorologist.
In addition, the students shared a really cool experience of seeing the clouds change before and after a snow squall. They were able to see and understand how the atmosphere changes with different weather because they had been learning about it all week. The students in fourth grade were even able to name each cloud they saw.
Finally, as the week came to an end, they celebrated everything they accomplished in the closing ceremonies. Soon after, they were already asking when the Winter Games would happen again. The school shared that they were grateful for the incredible program that helps get their students outside by providing great themes, materials, incentives, and daily content- and that without the programming and sponsors from WinterKids, it would be too difficult to coordinate something like this.
The program not only made an impact on that one school but also on the community. Since it was the Miller School’s second year participating, we were able to witness how much the community has come together to support students by attending our schoolwide events.
Have you noticed any changes in community awareness or support since becoming involved in the Hannaford Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs?
We have friends and family throughout Maine who will message us and say, “Hey! I saw WinterKids was at Hannaford. That’s awesome!”
What advice would you give to other nonprofits participating in the Hannaford Helps Community Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good Programs?
The best thing to do is to make the most of the program by letting your supporters know through social media, emails, or newsletters. Encourage them to participate in the program and tell them that purchasing these bags directly benefits your mission.
We find it helpful to share stories about our work and how our partnerships make it possible. It helps build long-term connections. Allowing people in and letting them have a deeper understanding of what they are supporting makes a difference and enhances the success of the program.
Interview with Courtney Holub, Executive Director