Dear SheJumps community,
As we wind down 2024 I want to thank you all for being a part of the SheJumps community this year. We’ve had an incredible year of transformation: building out our programming and deepening the bench at SheJumps to expand our impact supporting women and girls in outdoor play.
I recently took some girlfriends on their first backpacking trip; we hiked the same trail where my dad took my sister and I on our first backpacking trip 28 years earlier (to the eastern edge of the South San Juan Wilderness area in southern Colorado). That first backpacking trip is memorable; in no small part because we had llamas with us and they were very dramatic. But returning to Second Meadow along the Elk Creek, with a group of women on their first backpacking experience at such a different juncture in life had me thinking about the long lasting and deeply serving influence outdoor adventure has had on my life across all of those years.
I go backpacking for the fun of it, for the social time - the silliness and inside jokes and getting weird on the trail with friends and campers and dogs. I’m not usually there for the peak-bagging, I love the walking meditation. I’m not so much of a gear-head, though I love a well-packed pack and the satisfying swing and soft landing of my bag to my back when I hoist it up after a water break. I activate my most technical skills while hanging the bear bag. I spent many years leading young people on backpacking trips, and I love sharing these, my favorite parts of backpacking, with anyone who wants to go with me. But I also know over the years these activities have shaped me in so many other ways, from confidence in finding my way, in traveling (or moving) somewhere new, in approaching group dynamics, in knowing when to take my time and when (and how) to hustle. Perhaps the most transformative part of my outdoor adventures is that they help me not only unearth my potential but also mobilize it!
I have been part of the SheJumps leadership for five years, and as I serve in my current role as Board Chair, I think often about the transformation the organization has undergone in the last five years. The more we execute the mission of SheJumps, the more potential we unearth, and we are getting so good at mobilizing that potential. I am so proud to be a part of SheJumps leadership in this moment where we are working to make sure that women and girls continue to have expanded opportunities to try out new outdoor sports, build community and connection, grow in their skills and their leadership, and have transformative experiences that shape them now and for the rest of their lives.
We have so many exciting plans for 2025! Our IKON Pass Scholarship recipients are already planning meet-ups for their skiing adventures, our Snowpack Scholarship courses kick off in January, and volunteers across our regions are gearing up for a great season of Get The Girls Out events in March. Organization-wide and at the leadership level we have been deep in strategic planning this fall and look forward to sharing our next three year plan this coming summer. You could say we’re mobilizing to dream, jump and grow into the future.
So here’s our ask - we have some incredibly generous donors who are matching every dollar we raise in our year-end campaign up to $20,000! Your contribution to SheJumps will support programs designed to fulfill the promise to not only increase participation in outdoor activities for women, but also ensure that younger generations have the resources they need to get outside through adventure, education, and community building.
This campaign has started out with a bang, and we are well on our way to meeting our goal. Help us get over the finish line!
Thank you,
Tallie Segel
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