As individuals and communities contend with the severe impacts of COVID-19, Vail Resorts' CEO, Rob Katz, and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Elana's Pantry, donated more than $2.5 million to provide immediate support for both Vail Resorts employees and the mountain towns where the company operates.
Katz will donate $1.5 million in immediate emergency relief grants that will benefit more than a dozen local organizations providing critical services in Eagle, Summit and Gunnison counties in Colorado; Park City, Utah; Lake Tahoe, California; Whistler, British Columbia; Vermont; Stevens Pass, Washington; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming (home of Grand Teton Lodge Company).
An additional $1 million is being donated by Katz to create a new fund within Vail Resorts' Epic Promise Employee Foundation, which helps the company's employees respond to unpredictable setbacks, including medical events. This fund will help meet the increased need for assistance due to the impacts of COVID-19, ensuring that the Foundation has the resources to address this challenge.
The donation will be distributed through the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust, which was established to support mountain communities, with an initial focus on eliminating the stigma of mental illness and increasing access to mental and behavioral healthcare. Since 2016, the Trust has donated over $10 million total, including nearly $6.5 million in mental and behavioral health grants, to communities where Vail Resorts operates.
Recipients of the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grants include:
State of Colorado:
- Help Colorado Now: $250,000 to support non-profits across Colorado that are providing critical services during this public health crisis
Eagle County, Colorado:
- Eagle Valley Community Foundation: $200,000 to support basic needs and mobile food bank services that help community members across the county
Summit County, Colorado:
- Family Intercultural Resource Center: $100,000 to support the organization's mobile food bank and mental health and social service navigation
- The Summit Foundation: $100,000 to the Summit County Cares Fund to support non-profits serving the most vulnerable populations and providing critical resources to community members
Crested Butte, Colorado:
- Community Foundation of Gunnison Valley: $50,000 to the Foundation's COVID-19 Response and Recovery Efforts that supports non-profits who provide critical services to those impacted
Summit County, Utah:
- Park City Community Foundation: $200,000 to support the Community Response Fund that will deploy resources to health and human services community organizations that serve vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak
South Lake Tahoe, California:
- The El Dorado Community Foundation: $150,000 to the Foundation's Coronavirus Relief Fund that will support families in need and non-profits that provide critical basic need and other social services to the community
North Lake Tahoe/Truckee, California:
- Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation: $100,000 to the Foundation's COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund that supports non-profits across the region to serve the critical needs of those impacted by the coronavirus.
Whistler, British Columbia:
- Whistler Community Social Services: $100,000 CAD to support the organization's mobile food bank, mental health services and social service outreach efforts
- The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation: $100,000 CAD to the Foundation's COVID relief fund that will support non-profits across the Sea-to-Sky corridor as they meet the most critical needs of community members
Vermont:
- Vermont Community Foundation: $150,000 to support several non-profits in three communities that provide food services, basic needs and critical social services to community members
Stevens Pass, Washington:
- Upper Valley Mend: $50,000 to support the organization's food bank program and other critical social services to those in need
Jackson, Wyoming (Grand Teton Lodge Company):
- Community Foundation of Jackson Hole: $50,000 to the Community Emergency Response Fund to support local non-profits helping those directly impacted by COVID-19
All Vail Resorts Communities
- Epic Promise Employee Foundation: $1 million to establish a new fund to provide additional assistance to Vail Resorts employees due to the impacts of COVID-19
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