Burton Chill Program

Description

Chill will serve over 2500 disadvantaged boys and girls in 14 North American cities and Sydney, Australia this winter. Chill is an intervention program for disadvantaged inner-city kids, ages 10 to 18. Chill teaches at-risk kids to snowboard over six weeks each winter, giving them everything they need for the experience: lift tickets, instruction, bus transportation and head-to-toe gear.

Chill serves youth who are challenged by a multitude of issues: youth in group homes and foster care; with addictions; from the juvenile justice system; those struggling with drugs, violence, excessive anger, or depression. Many of the kids have never left their cities, even their neighborhoods, and most have never been to the mountains. Chill gives all of these kids the chance to take the lessons they learn on the hill and through their own personal success, become a snowboarder. More than that, Chill helps these youth see beyond their existing negative circumstances and encourages them to focus on positive alternatives for the future.

Kids want to learn to snowboard because it is fun, but it takes several lessons and lots of hard work to learn. We use the vehicle of snowboarding to help kids accomplish goals they never thought they could while teaching them some of the most important lessons of life: patience, persistence, respect, integrity, courage, and pride. These skills are taught by positive adult role models who treat the kids with respect and encouragement, transferring to these youth feelings of self-worth and value.

Jake Burton founded Chill in 1995 in our hometown of Burlington, Vermont to bring snowboarding to kids who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity. The program had such an immediate and profound impact that we have added new cities each year since in hopes of bringing Chill to as many kids as possible. Since our inception, Chill has touched the lives of over 12,000 underprivileged kids.