SOS Outreach

SOS Outreach, an organization devoted to promoting snow events among the underprivileged youth, has already started getting ready for next year’s event, despite Mt. Hood still being caught under 16 feet of snow! SOS Outreach has been establishing itself in Oregon and in the winter of 2007-2008, nearly 100 participants took part in various snowboarding events in Central Oregon.

SOS now plans to start a five-day ‘learn to ride’ program. This program offers professional skiing and snowboarding lessons, snow gear and all other necessary items. The program also wishes to promote values such as integrity, discipline, courage, wisdom etc. Students who complete the program are offered the choice of continuing with SOS for an additional four years. In order to do this, they must complete a ‘University’ program put forward by SOS.

SOS has been able to motivate underprivileged youth and host successful programs due to their carefully-chosen partnerships with local mountain resorts and youth agencies. In the 2007-2008 winter session, Mt. Hood Skibowl became the third resort, after Mr. Hood Meadows and Timberline, to donate lift tickets, equipment rentals, and snowboard instructors to SOS. Counselors and students from Portland Youth Builders, Mt. Scott Learning Centers, Reynolds Learning Academy and Janus Youth Programs, all showed active participation in the program.

Megan Barrett, a Mt. Scout Learning Center’s teacher, highlights the positive aspects of the SOS program- “SOS encourages my students to support one another, and also teaches them self-reliance and discipline. It’s incredible to watch students go from worry and doubt to happiness and pride when they make it down the hill for the first time without falling. Through SOS, these kids learn that they are the type of people who are capable of anything.”

The ski season of 2007-2008 marked the 8^th year for SOS in Oregon. And SOS Outreach wishes to have many more such successful years.