Giving Tuesday: Taking Care of the Community We Love
What Does it Mean to Support Your Community?
It’s been an unpredictable year to say the least. But while 2020 has been full of chaos, it’s also allowed us to grow the Coombs team to include some amazing new staff, allowing us to serve more kids than ever in a far more meaningful way.
This time of year, as we reflect on what we’re thankful for, these incredible new Program Coordinators are top of mind. Hear from three of our Program Coordinators, Molly, Caroline, and Hannah, on what has been so meaningful about working for Coombs and giving back to their community this year.
Molly Watters
This year has been especially tough, reminding us that everyone needs a safe environment and safe community. It's clear to me that's what Coombs provides for the kids in its programs. These kids need a mentor to talk to, friends to hang out with, and adventures to excite them and channel their energy. And it works! Through our activities this summer and fall, I watched quiet kids make friends, technology addicts forget their phones, tough-guys drop their acts, rebels lend a helping hand, and tiny kids think through big societal issues. I saw nervous girls conquer the bouldering wall, and then jump at the chance to help the next person figure out how it's done. No matter what's thrown at these kids, they've reminded me what resilience and enthusiasm look like. I'm so happy to be a part of their lives through Coombs, and to help them continue growing and having fun in this community.
Carolyne Drayton
For me giving back to my community helps me to cope with global issues that we face right here in Jackson. Affordable housing, a growing wealth gap, exclusivity in the outdoors, to name a few. I think it can be overwhelming to tackle large-scale crises that can feel daunting and insurmountable. Working and interacting with the local community reminds me of all the work still to be done in this place to make Jackson a more inclusive environment to live and recreate in. Why not start by creating change that you can see right here at home? I enjoy working with Coombs because it is a nested community inside of the greater Jackson community. I feel connected to the families that I have worked with whether through skiing, helping with homework, or just talking about our lives. This has made me feel more anchored to this place as a whole. I came to work at Coombs to help local kids connect to their home through outdoor recreation. As it turns out they have done exactly that for me and I am incredibly grateful to them for it.
Hannah Martinelli
It’s important for me to give back to the community that raised me. Jackson has given me a safe, beautiful place to grow my confidence and sense of self through the outdoors. I love working with the kids at Coombs because seeing their true personalities—joys, fears, resentments, confidences—come through while being outside is a really powerful feeling of closeness and community.
One of my favorite memories from the summer is when we were backpacking and we spent hours playing card games together. My co-staff and I had spent all day encouraging the kids along a 2-mile trail with packs which they did not want to be on and the joy of getting to camp and the kids teaching us card games was a wonderful role reversal of leadership.
Happy Giving Tuesday and thank you so much to everyone who has supported us this year!
You have made a monumental difference in the lives of kids in Teton County during this difficult year.
Today Stio, our Program Partner, is donating 1% of sales to Coombs Outdoors!
