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Vail Veterans Hits Its 20-Year Mark

Kimberly Nicoletti

Winter + Spring 2023-24

Vail Veterans Program has taught approximately 3,600 wounded warriors and their families to ski and snowboard since its inception in 2004, and in March, it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Its innovative programs, provided free of charge thanks mostly to private donors and sponsors, build confidence, life-long bonds and a sense of life purpose.

Cheryl Jensen, who was inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame last August, launched the national nonprofit in Vail. It all began after founding Sharing the Warmth Around the Globe — a coat program that has distributed 365,000 gently used ski resort uniform components from 90 resorts to 27 countries — and meeting a woman at the Pentagon in 2003 who told her about the life-altering injuries American soldiers sustained in Iraq.

vail veterans program - snowboarder

Photos courtesy of Vail Veterans Program.

"We help them find something in their soul and feed their passion again. We’re providing that avenue for them to realize they can do anything." Cheryl Jensen

“Imagine an 18-year-old woman or man who has suffered a horrific physical injury and lost one, or even four, limbs — wondering what to do in their life,” Jensen says. “We help them find something in their soul and feed their passion again. We’re providing that avenue for them to realize they can do anything.”

The first year, Vail Veterans Program assisted seven soldiers. The second year, they doubled their impact. Soon, they realized partners and children of soldiers also needed help.

Jensen tells the story of an 8-year-old girl learning how to ski and saying, “My favorite thing is to see my daddy smile again.”

“We watch families reconnect and really transform,” Jensen shares. “We bring them here, and they see that life can be very normal.”

Now, the program offers both winter adaptive and summer sports programs, the latter of which includes rock climbing, rafting, horseback riding, zip-lining, mountain biking and fly-fishing.

The nonprofit furthers its impact with caregiver retreats, family support groups, online programs and alumni activities, which range from CU Buffs games and golf tournaments to American Airlines’ Skyball Gala in Dallas.

“We realize that their demons don’t go away,” Jensen says about the need for ongoing support. “It’s how they manage them, and outdoor programs like ours help them manage them.”

vailveteransprogram.org