November Newsletter: Feeling the the chill

 

Dear friends,

Every season is busy for Coombs in a different way, and this fall has been no exception. We are coming off of our biggest summer yet, expanding summer programs by 50%, serving over 275 kids, and filling a growing need in our community. We ran more challenging backpacking trips and offered new specialty camps where participants built more advanced skills in their favorite activities like biking, hiking, climbing, and kayaking.

We spent our fall season getting the Coombs Clubhouse move-in ready. Coombs staff and volunteers set to work painting, demoing walls, building a bike barn, organizing gear, and moving our operations. We’re thrilled to be settling in and already welcoming participants and families into our new home.

Now we’re in full swing preparing for winter by signing participants up for ski programs, coordinating with partner organizations, and training a solid winter volunteer team. More than 400 participants are preparing to spend their winter with Coombs.

We are only able to offer this range of programs to an ever-growing number of kids thanks to support like yours. Thank you for being part of the Coombs community!

With gratitude,

Jenny Wolfrom Holladay

P.S. We are moved into our new building, but we still need to raise funds to pay the mortgage and make it our forever home. If you are interested in a tour or pledging your support to the Coombs Clubhouse Campaign, please reach out to me at jenny@coombsoutdoors.org.

Celebrating our biggest summer yet!

Due to a loss in funding our school district had to dramatically reduce summer school capacity for 2024, leaving a gap in services that disproportionately affected Coombs families. We were proud to expand our summer programming in response to this reduction in services. Thanks to support from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, we doubled the size of our elementary school day camp to meet this community need, adding 26 kids per week or 1,170 camper days across the summer. We grew our total summer capacity from 225 to 275 participants this past year, including 145 in Activate K-5 programs and 130 in Engage middle school programs. These programs provided each kid up to 3 weeks of camp to learn, grow, and engage in fun, structured activities while their parents worked.

Not only did we expand our participant capacity, but we grew our summer program offerings as well. We offered a wider range of options such as our first summer swimming lessons at the Rec Center, including our first swimming lessons for middle schoolers. We launched our new skills-focused day camps as part of our Engage summer programs, where middle and high schoolers experienced full days biking, climbing, paddling, or hiking in addition to our existing evening skills clubs and the backpacking trips we offer. Growing these specialty skillbuilding opportunities from last year’s 50 spots to this year’s 90 spots helped us move toward our goal of providing older participants with ways to pursue their individual interests and build more advanced outdoor skills. Skills camps are a way to keep our older participants engaged, check in with participants more often throughout the season, and help them maintain their connection to our community and resources.

The new staggered Engage camp schedule also made it possible for us to run longer, more challenging backpacking trips where participants were able to take their wilderness experience and group bonding to the next level. One example was an amazing 8-day trip through the Wind River Range. Our internships were also a success, with 11 high schoolers gaining experience in education, conservation, outdoor gear, and even physical therapy.

Thank you, summer partners & funders!

Community Foundation of Jackson Hole

National Park Foundation

Stio

Exum Mountain Guides

Dave Hansen Whitewater

Snake River Fund

Rendezvous River Sports

Jackson Hole Kayak Club

Wilderness Adventures

Patagonia

REI Cooperative Action Fund

Teton Conservation District

Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Bridger Teton National Forest

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Jackson Hole Land Trust

Slow Food in the Tetons

Jackson Hole Fly Fishing School

International Game Fish Association

Jackson Hole One Fly

Grand Teton Music Festival

Jackson Hole Children’s Museum

Animal Adoption Center

Teton County Search and Rescue

Wheel Wranglers

HGG Bikes

Grand Targhee Resort

JH Art Association

National Museum of Wildlife Art

Protect Our Waters JH

Jackson Hole Swimming

Teton County Parks & Recreation

Hole Food Rescue

REI

The Nature Conservancy

Teton Physical Therapy

…and more!!!

Winter is coming!

We took a break from fall programs to move into our new building, but now we’re in full swing preparing for winter. Families are stopping by the Coombs Clubhouse to get signed up for ski and snowboard programs, we’re training our volunteer team, and our winter interns are getting oriented to their upcoming roles.

We’re about to dive into another big winter season coordinating activities for about 400 participants of all ages. This winter’s programs include:

  • Coombs Club: ski & snowboarding at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Snow King

  • Learn to ski & snowboard: lessons at Snow King

  • Rockchuck Racers: advanced alpine skiing with JH Ski & Snowboard Club

  • Junior Nordic: advanced cross country skiing with JH Ski & Snowboard Club

  • Ositos Nordic: beginner cross country skiing with Coombs & JH Ski & Snowboard Club

  • Coombs Backcountry Club: backcountry skiing & avalanche safety

  • Afterschool programs & workshops

 
Molly Watters