Canmore Hotel and Lodging Association (CHLA) announced a donation to the Rocky Mountain Adaptive (RMA) on Friday (Jan. 8) at Blackstone Mountain Lodge.
CHLA president Andrew Shepherd presented a cheque for $1,300 to RMA Executive Director Jamie McCulloch.
Rocky Mountain Adaptive is a registered charity that aims to provide any individual with a disability the chance to access all sport and recreational activities in the Canadian Rockies. Based in Canmore, RMA enables adults and children with physical, intellectual, cognitive, or developmental impairments to participate in activities available in the Bow Valley (including Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise and surrounding areas).
“We held a fundraiser at the Coast Hotel where we held a raffle offering everything from hotel stays to other amenities, with the money raised going to Rocky Mountain Sports,” said Shepherd.
RMA operates as a charity and is always in need of monetary donations to help the operation to continue offering accessible activities for people of all abilities.
“We rely very heavily on the success and development of our program on fundraising, so if we get funds that come through from local businesses, we use it for our participants and programs and for the local area. So this money will go into helping individuals in Canmore and Banff to participate in mountain sport and recreation,” McCulloch said.
RMA is currently underway with its busiest winter season to date, offering individuals the opportunity to take part in skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing. “It will definitely be our busiest winter in our six years of operation, which is phenomenal,” said McCulloch.
RMA’s big event coming up in April is its annual fundraising event, ShredAbility, a scavenger hunt held at Sunshine Village.
“It’s an awesome fun fundraiser event with people raising money and taking part in a scavenger hunt around the mountain with different clues and fun challenges, with all money raised going to support our programs and to get as many people with challenges as possible out on the hill and having fun,” McCulloch said.
Visit rockymountainadaptive.com for more information and to register, with this year’s event taking place April 9.
“I just want to give a personal thank you to the organization for making the donation. I can’t stress enough how valuable it is to get support from community businesses like the Canmore Hotel and Lodging Association,” McCulloch said. “It’s just incredible to get that support; it goes such a long way in getting individuals out to have fun in the mountains.”
