Vail Launches Free Ski Passes for Minority Kids
Vail Resorts has launched a diversity program, offering 1,600 ski school scholarships and free ski passes to local and front range minority children.
100 local kids will receive "a season pass, 15 days of lessons, rentals and lunches." There are 1,500 one day scholarships for those from the front range. The program is being offered at Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge.
Dee Byrne, director of Vail Ski and Snowboard School, says:
With minority groups making up a larger percentage of the nation's population, Vail Resorts recognizes the need to appeal to those groups...."As the demographics in the United States change and the population becomes more mixed, we need to make sure we're reaching out to citizens of all colors as a sport in order to sustain participation in the future".... A big part of that is including workers in the community who do not ski, Byrne said.In 2005, the number of minorities in Colorado was 29%. I hope this gets more attention in the media. It's good to see a big corporation like Vail Resorts give back to the community.
Comments
Submitted by Colorado Tourist Supporter (not verified) on Mon, 2007-09-10 22:05.
If the ski resorts want the minorities to vote for higher taxes for the I-70 corridor project, don't you think they ought to at least spend a dime or two of their record profits on the very minorities they wish to "court" for more of the state revenues? For that manner they ought to be hiring more locals and minorities as well not just in the low level jobs but at the management ranks as well. I mean if you want to tax the minority & southern colorado citizens to pay for your mountain playgrounds & transportation, shouldn't you at least take them to dinner first?
But I agree they should also make it available to poor white kids .. only thing is ... most decision makers will hire a poor white kid over a poor minority kid ...
So, this is probably an effort to endear themselves to colorado minorities in effort to gain votes for thier I-70 project ... dontcha think? Especially since a similar proposal failed a few years back - mostly due to Southern Coloradoans rejecting funding for mountain playground spending (as reported in the summit daily)...
Submitted by Phil Stanhope (not verified) on Tue, 2007-01-23 11:44.
Hypothetically, if I knew a poor white kid who wanted to learn to ski, would Vail give him or her a free pass?
Or would I have to dye his or her skin?
