Whitefish Community Foundation Awards $125,000 Grant to DREAM
Bigfork Eagle | UPDATED 1 week, 1 day AGO
Whitefish Community Foundation recently awarded a $125,000 Major Community Project Grant to DREAM Adaptive Recreation for the construction of a new fully-accessible headquarters building at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Pictured left to right are Erich Spitz, Jeffra Clough, Doug Reed, Caeli Quinn, Alan Davis, Laura Abernethy, Julie Tickle, Ellen Mering and Madeline Westbrook.
Whitefish Community Foundation has awarded a $125,000 grant to DREAM Adaptive Recreation to support the construction of a new building that will serve as the nonprofit’s headquarters. The Lesar Family Mountain Center for DREAM Adaptive Recreation will be a 15,000-square-foot facility with fully accessible space for day-to-day operations, group rooms, offices, a family lounge, lockers and a tech shop with storage for recreational gear. The building will be located on a parcel of ski-in/ski-out land donated by Whitefish Mountain Resort.
DREAM Adaptive Recreation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of children and adults with disabilities by providing year-round outdoor adaptive recreational opportunities. Their programs support individuals with physical, cognitive, intellectual, developmental and sensory challenges, including military veterans.
"A year-round adaptive facility purpose-built for our participants will be transformational for our programs and the greater community,” DREAM Executive Director Julie Tickle said. “The new building will elevate the experience for all involved and allow more people to participate in more programs. As we continue to fundraise to bring this ambitious vision to life, we are grateful for the partnership of Whitefish Community Foundation. This grant is a vote of confidence that tells our community this is an important project to step up and invest in."
Whitefish Community Foundation’s grant includes $100,000 from the Major Community Project Grant Program and $25,000 from the Alpine Skiing for All Fund. The Foundation’s Major Community Project Grant Program is dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations complete capital projects that will have a significant and positive effect on the Flathead Valley.
“DREAM has transformed what is possible for so many children, adults and veterans in our community, and their new Mountain Center will continue changing lives for decades to come," Whitefish Community Foundation President/CEO Alan Davis said. "The Foundation is proud to support a project that embodies the very best of the Flathead Valley — access, inclusion and the simple joys of recreating outside. We invite the community to join us in supporting DREAM’s capital campaign to help bring this impactful project to life.”