News & Stories

The Loppet Alumni Fund: A Solution to an Exciting Problem

Since 2002, the Loppet Foundation has introduced cross country skiing and year-round outdoor activities to more than 6,5000 children, including 5,500 from North Minneapolis. Loppet kids initially learn to ski through our programs at six Minneapolis elementary schools, and many go on to ski, mountain bike, paddle and just generally love the outdoors through our middle school programming.

But we have a problem. And it is a great one to have. Increasingly Loppet alumni from our North Minneapolis programs now ski and mountain bike in high school. Although the Loppet Foundation currently does not have a formal high school-level program in North Minneapolis schools, we have continued to help Loppet kids pursue their passion for outdoor activities – a passion that we helped ignite. On an ad-hoc basis, we have provided equipment to Loppet alumni, paid for their participation in Loppet Nordic Racing programs, and sponsored their attendance at training camps such as the West Yellowstone Camp over Thanksgiving Break.

Happily, the number of alumni has grown significantly. Patrick Henry High School in North Minneapolis now has an entire team of skiers and mountain bikers – and 18 out of 20 are Loppet program alumni. And we are trying to help create a team at Edison High School given the interest from students who participated in our Nellie Stone Johnson program. We are so proud of them and want to continue to support their efforts. That is why we are starting our new Loppet Alumni Fund so we can simultaneously help our alumni and continue to expand our elementary and middle school programs.

The Alumni Fund provides an avenue for interested individuals to contribute directly to helping kids like Raequan Wilson, Mike Xiong, Xavier Mansfield, Jezier Bradley – and many more each year – as they embark on new adventures beyond their Loppet middle school programming.

Those interested in contributing to the Alumni Fund can click here to make a tax-deductible donation.