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Burton Chill
Project Goal
$40,000.00

Description of the problem:


Hundreds of thousands of inner-city kids in the United States go day in day out without ever leaving a 10 block radius of their homes.  For some kids in Los Angeles this means never having been to the beach and for others in New York it means never having seen Times Square.  Landmarks and activities that are right in their backyards are still inaccessible and seen as unreachable.

Instead of seeking positive, healthy activities, many of these kids turn to drugs, alcohol, violence and gangs.  Their self esteem drops, some see themselves as worthless and others lose all sense of hope.  Some see these kids as lost but Chill has proven time and time again that with the proper attention and motivation each kid can make the changes they want in their lives.


Description of the project/solution:

Chill is committed to taking those very youth that are struggling just to survive and using the sport of snowboarding to help get them back on track.  By taking the kids out of the city, away from the concrete and to the mountains, it puts them in a foreign place and allows them to leave all the stress and problems back at home.

Each year Chill works with over 20 social service agencies in each of our program sites allowing 170+ at-risk youth per city the opportunity to snowboard once a week for six weeks.  Transportation, head-to-toe gear, lessons and lift tickets are provided for each kid and all that’s asked in exchange is that they show up each week and push themselves to keep trying. 

What many of the kids discover is that snowboarding gives them a “natural high,” a feeling of freedom and an escape.  Through this program it has been proven that 57% of the kids showed an improved academic performance, 80% showed improved attitudes and 96% showed improved self-esteem.

By giving a child the tools and encouragement to succeed, Chill shows them that if they work hard and believe in themselves that they can achieve anything.  They are able to shed the labels that society has given them and through their own personal success, become snowboarders.


Amount that Channel G seeks to raise in order to help the organization achieve its goals:


Chill’s annual budget is $613,905. Of that amount, we have designated a Channel G fundraising goal of $40,000 which would be sufficient funds to completely run one of our fifteen program sites and get 170 inner city youth out on the slopes this winter.  This would include gear, lift tickets, bus transportation, lessons and administrative costs.

Other support needed by the project:


Chill is also always looking for volunteers to ride with the kids.  If you know how to snowboard and want to make a difference in a youth’s life, go to www.chill.org for all the volunteer information.