The Kiwanis Ski & Snowboard School is a local service project in collaboration with the local non-profit Mt. Holiday Ski & Recreational Area. Many years ago, the Kiwanis Club of Traverse City recognized the need for a youth-based initiative that would help create confidence and peer-to-peer encouragement, teach safety practices related to skiing & snowboarding, and provide an outdoor, healthy winter activity for the youth in our area. The Kiwanis Ski & Snowboard School has been in place for decades, and the experience has positively impacted generations of families, families, and participants. 
 
 The origins of the Kiwanis Ski School go back to 1965. In collaboration with Mt. Holiday, the Kiwanis Club of Traverse City has organized, promoted, and provided volunteer support for this project for the past six decades.  This year, the Ski & Snowboard School will kick off on January 7, 2025 and run through the end of February.
 
Due to the partnership, the ski and snowboard lessons have always remained affordable, priced much lower than normal ski lessons. The goal of the Kiwanis Club has always been to provide a low-cost option for local children to learn how to ski and snowboard and enjoy a wonderful winter sport. Children and adults have many ski & snowboard options at our local ski resorts around the Traverse City area. In addition to the affordability of the lessons, the association with the non-profit Kiwanis Club of Traverse City has created trust and comfort with parents who enroll their children.
 
The geographic outreach is primarily focused on the greater Grand Traverse area. The Kiwanis Club markets the program to all of the local school systems. Due to the long history, parents know to contact the Kiwanis Club or Mt. Holiday to sign up their children. Many of the parents were actual benefactors of the program when they were children learning to ski at the Kiwanis Ski School.
    
 In 2024, the Kiwanis Ski & Snowboard School recorded that 275 children participated in the ski and snowboard school. Since its inception, thousands of children have participated in the Ski School over its 58-year history. Annually, approximately 10-12 ski instructors are hired by Mt. Holiday to teach the children to ski or snowboard. In addition, the Kiwanis Club provides 2 to 3 volunteers on the ski hills to help the new skiers & snowboarders navigate the tow ropes and assist the instructors.   
 
 Mt Holiday Ski & Recreational Area is a key partner in this program, providing the facility, rental equipment, instructors, and overall guidance. Starting last year, the ski school changed its enrollment and payment process to digital through the Mt. Holiday website. This has streamlined registration and made payment more efficient for families.
 
 This project has been a signature service project for the Kiwanis Club of Traverse City Club for over 50 years. Many Kiwanis Club members, guests, and presenters have participated in or volunteered with the Kiwanis Ski School over the years. Our community identifies the Ski School with Kiwanis. One of the most impactful outcomes of the Ski School is the peer-to-peer ‘life skills’ learned by the kids. For example, very few activities/events allow kids to succeed, fail, and learn together in a friendly, safe, and encouraging environment. A comment from one of the tenured instructors at the annual Kiwanis Ski School stated, “The kids, whether 1st graders or 5th graders, gain confidence by watching what their peers can do – they start with no confidence and end with confidence and new friends”.
 
In the spring of each year, after the Ski School has wrapped up, the Kiwanis Club of TC donates all of the net proceeds of the Ski & Snowboard School to Mt. Holiday Ski & Recreational Area, a local non-profit, to help fund its operation.  Mt. Holiday relies on its daily ticket and rental fees and local donations (such as these) to fund its operation.  Due to the long relationship the Kiwanis Club has developed with the team at Mt. Holiday, the Kiwanis Club of Traverse City has chosen to provide additional financial support to Mt. Holiday Ski & Recreational Area for the past five years to improve their operations, which served our community.   
 
In 2018, the Kiwanis Club of Traverse City donated $2,000 to Mt. Holiday to replace all the “walkie-talkies” used by ski school instructors and lift operators. The new “walkie-talkies” allow improved communication among the instructors and lift operators to improve safety on the ski hill. In 2023, the Kiwanis Club of Traverse City donated $45,000 to the capital campaign of Mt. Holiday to improve the chair lifts and related equipment, improving the safety and reliability of the ski resort.