Dear Friends,

Coombs participants are back at school and settling into the rhythm of the year. With a quick break in September under our belts, October brought the start of multiple afterschool programs for Coombs Outdoors, made possible with funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. We are specifically excited to be building on our middle school programs in response to feedback from participants, parents, and the Teton County School District that middle schoolers need more resources.

Imagine you’re 12 years old. You’re in seventh grade. It’s tough. You want to be unique, but also fit in. You want to do well in school, but your teachers are hard on you. You’re trying to keep up with the latest fashion, social media trends, and what gossip is going around about you and your friends on or offline. You want your crush to notice you, but you’re also not sure you actually like them that much. Your family is really important to you, but you’re also exhausted by your siblings and worried about disappointing your parents. With all that pressure, it’s hard to relax, be a kid, and have space to simply work on growing up.

That’s where Coombs comes in. For the first time, we’re running fall Engage afterschool programs for 26 middle schoolers - a program they requested themselves through our Participant Advisory Council. This gives our participants the space to decompress after school, disconnect from electronics, be active and creative, and hang out with their friends and Coombs staff mentors.

In addition, I’m proud to be leading our first ever Coombs Ski Fit for middle and high school participants. It’s inspiring to see them putting in a lot of effort, pushing through challenging work, and having fun together at the same time. 20 Ski Fit participants will be heading into ski season with strong legs and lungs.

We’re also continuing our fall afterschool programs and swimming lessons for Activate elementary school kids, led by two Empower high school interns as instructors. These programs are always in high demand, and we look forward to filling these community needs as much as our capacity allows.

We continue to be grateful for our supportive community, including everyone who donated during Old Bill’s this year. You all make our work possible - thanks for being on our team!

Happy Halloween!

Jenny Wolfrom Holladay

Executive Director

Engage Afterschool Programs

Thanks to funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, we launched our first ever fall middle school afterschool programs with 26 participants in grades 6 through 8. They meet on Wednesdays, and do activities like hiking, biking, cookie baking, pumpkin carving, scrapbook making, swimming, and more!

We are excited to have started our very own Coombs Ski Fit for middle and high schoolers. 20 participants are gearing up for ski season with strength-building and injury prevention exercises led by Jenny and Ellie at the Jackson Hole Middle School. Even though they feel sore the next day, participants are loving the chance to work out alongside their friends, prepare their legs for skiing and snowboarding, and celebrate finishing a challenging effort.

Activate Afterschool Programs

We currently have 52 elementary schoolers in fall swim lessons and afterschool programs. These fill an important need for our families, serving as childcare for parents and as an opportunity for kids learn important skills, stay active, and have fun with their peers between our summer camp and winter sports seasons. Both of our fall afterschool programs are led by Sally and Espi, our Activate program staff, as well as Maria and Gia, our two fall Empower interns. Our elementary school afterschool programs are also supported with funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole.

On Thursdays, 26 kids meet to do a variety of activities after school, including biking, climbing at the bouldering wall, playing in fall leaves, making arts & crafts, trick or treating, and preparing for Dia de los Muertos.

On Mondays and Tuesdays, 26 kids head to the rec center for swimming lessons. They’re learning very quickly to get comfortable in the water, float on their own, and, by the end of the season, kick across the pool! Swimming lessons remain our most popular new program, creating access to water safety skills and opportunities for fun.

THANK YOU for your Old Bill’s gift!

We received a record number of gifts through Old Bill’s Fun Run this year, and are so grateful for this incredible outpouring of support from our community. We’ve grown significantly as an organization, and still have long waitlists for all of our programs. With your generosity, we can continue to increase the capacity of our programs while continuing to make all of them even better for our families. If you gave through Old Bill’s this season, thank you!

Join us for a Dia de los Muertos Celebration

Thursday November 2, 5-7pm

Dia de los Muertos is a time to honor lost loved ones, share stories of their lives, and welcome their souls home. To celebrate this special holiday, our Coombs afterschool program participants have created traditional altars and filled them with decorations and offerings. We invite you to join us for a community Dia de los Muertos celebration 5-7pm this Thursday, November 2 at St. John’s Hansen Hall. Enjoy food, make arts & crafts, get your face painted, and can view the altars made by Coombs and other organizations.

Partner Spotlight: Share Winter Foundation

As we gear up for winter, we are excited to thank the Share Winter Foundation for their critical support of our ski and snowboard programs. We align with Share Winter’s mission - to enrich the lives of youth through winter sports - and are grateful to be part of their network of like-minded organizations. Their grant funding makes our winter programs possible, from learn to ski/ride lessons at Snow King to Coombs Club ski mentorship programs at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Sponsor Spotlight: Rendezvous River Sports

As summer fades into the rearview mirror, we need to thank one of our key sponsors of the season: Rendezvous River Sports. They make it possible for our participants to experience water sports, which is always a highlight of the summer. Year after year they provide paddleboards for every week of Activate camp and discounted ducky trips our Engage programs.

October 2023 Newsletter: What's going on after school?