Todd Rutledge, Board President, Owner of Mountain Trip

Skills for Living and Learning is culminating their summer program with an ascent of Washington’s Mount Rainier.  The Bayfield based institution blends therapy with education to provide an alternative-learning environment for area children via an accredited K-3 school, a pre-school and their popular summer program.  This summer’s theme has been a Reading Road Trip of the West.  The final week of the program will coincide with a benefit climb up the iconic volcano located outside Seattle and the students will follow the progress of a team of climbers who will ascend the mountain as a fundraiser for the program.

The Rainier benefit climb is the second such climb that Skills’ Board President Todd Rutledge has organized to help raise money for the non-profit school.  His Ophir, CO based mountain guiding service, Mountain Trip, organized a very successful attempt of Alaska’s Mount McKinley a year ago.  This year, they are teaming up with a family game company out of Seattle, Discovery Bay Games, to send a message out from up high that our special kids deserve every opportunity for support that we can provide them.  The goal of the climb is to raise $5000 for Skills for Living and Learning

The team will climb the mountain over five days via a route called the Emmons Glacier.  Instruction in mountaineering skills will be provided for lesser-experienced climbers.  The climbers will check in daily with the students at the Skills for Living and Learning summer program, who will be tracking their progress from Bayfield.

Skills for Living and Learning would like to thank the supporters of this fundraising climb, Discovery Bay Games, Mountain Trip, and a generous donation from the Montrose, CO based dentist office, Colorado Smiles.

Read the article in the Durango Herald for more….. http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20110728/NEWS01/707289934/-1/News01/Climbing-Rainier-to-help-little-learners

If you were there, you know how much fun it was for ALL!  If you weren’t there, you really missed a great day, so mark your calendar for the last Saturday in June, 2012!  Our board and staff feel that this unique, fun, family oriented event can grow into our major fundraiser, eliminating the need for so many smaller fundraisers.  Of course, these events are the result of a large group of dedicated, hard working volunteers to whom we are all very grateful.

First of all, we had a 100% representation of our board!  Thank you Lynn, Kay, Denny, Todd (who drove in from Ophir!) and especially Sharon, whose tireless efforts at both Krispy Kreme sales and Meet the Trucks helped make it the success it is.  Joining forces with Sharon was Jenn DeNunzio, newly hired at Skills for Living and Learning.  Jenn’s persistence in obtaining sponsors and participants was nothing short of amazing!  Other SLandL staff offering great help that day was Susan 2, Aren, Tamara, Patti, Eva, Lora, Savana and Kathy………..and of course our wonderful parents!!  These are Meg Dunn, Terrina Mills, Hope Reinhardt, Lisa Ann Pilgrim, Sara Willie and thank you Charmaine Summers and Kami Larson for the crock pots.  Fabulous facepainting was done by Justa Witt and Monea Monroe.  Running around everywhere to do a multitude of tasks were Sharon’s Color Guard Girls!!  And of course where would we have been without Valorie to go to Rio Rancho and pick up the Krispy Kremes!!

Thanks to all the families who sold Krispy Kremes, helped with posters, came and had fun and gave us support………

Susan Livingston