KD Dase
I don’t know about you, but I’m missing our Mountaineers community more than ever. We were going to have a Gala tonight and I was prepared to stand in front of 500 of you to make an appeal for support. That’s not the usual setting for me, but I was looking forward to swapping my warm layers and rain gear for a suit jacket and silk tie. I decided to get fancy anyway and made a video for you because tonight I’m All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go.
I’ll admit that I was initially nervous when I thought about speaking to you today. I’ve volunteered more than 100 times and supported dozens of outdoor learning experiences, including being lowered into a crevasse on Mt Baker for rescue practice.Still, I’ve never undertaken an adventure quite like this.
Then, I started thinking about the hundreds of students I’ve worked with. I thought about the thousands of volunteers who teach our programs, and every wild place we’ve experienced as a community. These people and places are worth speaking up for because they are all beneficiaries of support from donors like you. Myself included.
In good times, your charitable contributions support mission-critical initiatives such as conservation, volunteers, scholarships, and youth outreach. Today, you’re helping The Mountaineers cover the expenses of their core operations while their primary earned revenue streams have come to a halt. But make no mistake, your support today does make a difference for the people, places, and books that you care about. Because even though programming has stalled, you make it possible for Mountaineers volunteers and staff to continue working behind the scenes and ensure that our community makes it out of these dark times together, stronger than ever.
All week long you’ve received messages highlighting ways you can support The Mountaineers, and today is the last day of our Virtual Gala Campaign. The online auction closes tonight in two stages, the first at 7:30pm, and the second at 8:30pm. There are still 7 spots remaining to join the Peak Society Challenge, and Jim Whittaker has invited us to rope up with him to help unlock the Board matching pool.
If it is not a hardship for you to do so, please consider making a gift today. If you’d like to be counted in today’s total but need to wait until later in the month to complete your donation, all you need to do is email development@mountaineers.org and let them know how much you’d like to contribute. Every dollar raised today will support The Mountaineers core operations until we are able to resume courses, programming, and events once again.
To all of you who support The Mountaineers, as members, volunteers, donors, authors, photographers, students, and readers, thank you for making a difference everyday!
Today is the last day of The Mountaineers Virtual Gala campaign. You have until midnight tonight to take advantage of the remaining $4,000 in the board’s matching opportunity or claim one of the remaining y spots left in our Peak Society Challenge! If you’re ready to make your gift, you can do so here, or you can email development@mountaineers.org to make a pledge.
You have just a few more hours to bid in the online silent auction. Keep in mind that the “first silent packages” (numbered 7001-7012) close at 7:30pm PST and the “second silent packages” (numbered 7501-7508) close at 8:30pm PST. At 9pm, The Mountaineers team will be raising a toast in honor of the entire membership and invite you to do the same.
