Dear Friends,

We couldn't be more excited to kick off our 10 year anniversary this Old Bill's Fun Run giving season. We are looking forward to celebrating and sharing our new set of values with the community. Our five new values guide our day-to-day program work, partnership development, communications with families, and the strategic decisions that we make. These values are Belonging, Empowerment, Growth, Fun, and Adventure. Our goal is to create and implement programs that reflect our values and promote them within the Coombs community. Coombs participants learn these values in programs and can use them in other parts of their lives, including school and relationships.

This summer we checked-in with Coombs participants and staff to understand how they personally experience these values at Coombs. Hearing the impact that our programs have on participants through their own words and stories is not only inspiring, but also helps us incorporate their feedback to develop more meaningful and collaborative programs. We are excited to share these stories from Coombs participants and staff with you over the coming weeks.

We are continually inspired by the strong values and philanthropic spirit of the Jackson community. Generous donations to Coombs Outdoors through Old Bill’s Fun Run have made it possible for us to invite more than 350 local youth into our year-round outdoor programs in 2022. Your contribution to Coombs Outdoors this year will increase our capacity to share our values with more youth through innovative, inclusive programs that bring us closer to our vision of a community in which youth feel supported, connected, and inspired.

Thank you for supporting Coombs Outdoors!

- Jenny Wolfrom Holladay
Executive Director, Coombs Outdoors

Donate through Old Bill's today!

From August 12 - September 16, all donations made to Coombs Outdoors through Old Bill’s Fun Run will be matched. This means the impact of your gifts will go even farther!

Donate to Coombs Outdoors through Old Bill's Fun Run

Celebrating 10 Years of Success with a $1 Million Challenge

We are excited to be celebrating the milestone of a decade of service and commitment to local youth and families. Originally founded in 2012 by Emily Coombs as the Doug Coombs Foundation, the organization was established to address the lack of representation and promote inclusion of the whole community in outdoor recreation opportunities that define the culture of Jackson Hole.

“Raising my son in Jackson Hole opened my eyes to the lack of representation of working families present in our outdoor recreation programs and culture. Many of my son’s friends from school were nowhere to be found at places like the ski resorts, local trails, or soccer programs,” said Emily Coombs, Founder of Coombs Outdoors. “In an effort to change this, I founded the Doug Coombs Foundation in 2012 to offer the hard-working families of our community the opportunity to join their peers in sports and outdoor activities. I am thrilled to see the growth and success of this organization over the past 10 years. With the help of our supporters and partners, we have succeeded in making much needed changes that have made the outdoor recreation opportunities we all love available and accessible to more people in our community. However, there is still more to be done.”

The first winter Coombs cohort playing in the snow at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, winter of 2012/2013.
Photo by Emily Coombs.

In an effort to make winter sports accessible to everyone, Coombs Outdoors originally funded 28 local children in learn-to-ski programs at Snow King Mountain Resort. 10 years later, the organization provides more than 350 local youth the opportunity to participate in outdoor programs year round, spanning from skiing and snowboarding in the winter, hiking, biking, boating, and climbing in the summer, and year-round high school internships, swimming lessons, afterschool programs, and more.

"You know how some events happen in your life, and at the moment you don’t realize how important they are but looking back you can remember every second of it? That’s how I feel about being offered a position at Coombs."
- Laura Gaylord, Associate Program Director

Coombs participant Angie learning to ski at Snow King, 2012/2013 winter season. Photo by Emily Coombs.

10th Anniversary Million Dollar Challenge!

A group of generous donors has come together to celebrate Coombs Outdoors' 10-year milestone with a 3-year, $1 Million fundraising challenge intended to build consistent annual operating support that will provide the financial resources necessary to build capacity towards developing more programs that serve a greater number of youth in the community.

To address both organizational growth and community demand in a responsible and impactful way, Coombs Outdoors recently completed a 3-5 year strategic plan in which increasing financial sustainability,  evaluating program impact, and identifying opportunities for growth are highlighted as priority goals. Five donors have cumulatively committed a challenge grant of $333K annually for three years for a total of $1 Million to help Coombs Outdoors reach these goals. Donor contributions up to $333K per year for the next three years will be matched dollar-for-dollar through this 10th Anniversary $1 Million Challenge. 

“Reaching a decade of service to the community is an incredible milestone,” said Marshall Parke, Coombs Outdoors Board Member and one of the grant challengers. “I’ve seen firsthand the growth of this organization and I am inspired by the impact that the life changing services Coombs provides is having on our local youth and their families. I’m excited to see the community show up for this challenge and I’m looking forward to seeing where this type of investment can take the organization in the next 10 years.” 

The generous 10th Anniversary $1 Million challenge donors are Marshall and Veronique Parke, the Staryk Family Fund, Kathleen Brown, Mark and Teri Snell, James and Lindsay Wilcox, and Nancy and Tim Gardiner. All gifts from new and existing donors will be matched dollar-for-dollar through the challenge as well as multi-year pledges to support Coombs Outdoors. 

“We are so grateful to our 10th Anniversary $1 Million Challenge donors who so deeply believe in the work of this organization and in the philanthropic spirit of this community,” said Jenny Wolfrom Holladay, Executive Director of Coombs Outdoors. “Our momentum as an organization has been growing year-over-year as we work to address the needs expressed by our families. This $1 Million challenge is not only an incredible celebration and acknowledgement of the last decade of success for Coombs Outdoors, but will also provide us with resources to expand capacity and services during a time when it is becoming increasingly harder for working families to live and thrive in Jackson. By joining this challenge, donors will help Coombs Outdoors meet its goals to leverage the power of outdoor recreation to build a sense of community and belonging, increase self-worth and confidence, and improve mental and emotional intelligence for our local youth.”

Coombs Outdoors will be planning several special 10th Anniversary events throughout the year. For more information on how to contribute to the 10th Anniversary $1 Million Challenge, reach out to Jenny Wolfrom Holladay at jenny@coombsoutdoors.org. 

Help us secure our challenge funding by donating today!

Coombs participants learning to ski at Snow King, 2012/2013. Photo by Emily Coombs.

Do you have a favorite Coombs memory? We'd love to hear from you! Please reach out to vanessa@coombsoutdoors.org if you're interested in sharing any stories or photos from your time with Coombs.

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