Eimee Meneses, a senior at Park City High School, got involved with SOS Outreach, a nonprofit that helps drop the barriers to entry for kids interested in skiing and snowboarding, when she was in sixth grade.

“I was always excited to try new things, especially if it was outdoors, and I never really did anything in the winter,” she said. “So joining SOS was a good thing for me.”

Meneses and her family moved to Park City from the Philippines in 2014 in search of better job opportunities. She found other opportunities too, with the chance to try snowboarding.

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She credited SOS with increasing her confidence and developing long-lasting friendships.

Without SOS, Summit and Wasatch County kids like Meneses might never have developed a love for skiing and snowboarding, especially as the industry grows more and more inaccessible, both financially and culturally for kids of color.

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It’s for this reason that after three decades, SOS is needed more than ever, said Seth Ehrlich, the group’s executive director.

“The isolation that kids are experiencing, the challenges of finding a sense of belonging and a community of support, have actually grown over the past 30 years,” said Ehrlich.

This is a trend in general, but especially for kids growing up in ski town communities, he said, where there is even more exclusivity than meets the eye. 

“There’s just the overall othering of the sport. … So there is intimidation that happens just because of the overall culture that exists,” he said. “And then there’s also some real functional areas, including gear, the perceived cost — it feels like it’s an expensive sport.”

In areas like Vail, Colorado, where SOS was founded in 1993, access to skiing and snowboarding for kids relied heavily on the support of family and friends.

“It’s still a sport and activity that if you’ve been a part of it, if your parents introduced you to it, if you’ve had good friends …  you are likely to come. If you’re on the outside of it, it’s really hard to get in,” he said.

Unfortunately, Ehrlich said, this exclusion from the pursuit of winter sports historically affects kids in underserved groups the most. And it’s not because they’re not there.

“When you think about the backbone of mountain communities, people who are making it happen, many of them are immigrants from other countries where there is not skiing and riding. And they’re here for the great job opportunities, but their families are not participating,” Ehrlich said.

This is certainly true of Park City, noted by mid-2000s Park City Mayor Dana Williams, who acknowledged then that “without immigrant laborers in restaurant, lodging and landscaping business, among others, (this) town could not operate.”

But how many of these families who’ve called Park City home for generations have been able to participate in the world-class skiing in their backyards?

“If you’re on the outside of it, it’s really hard to get in,” Ehrlich said. “That’s where it’s critical to have organizations like SOS and so many others who are in this space.” 

Now in its 30th year, SOS serves fourth through 12th graders, 70% of whom are kids of color. And their programming has continued to grow.

Initially, the group was named Snowboard Outreach Society because they were focused on improving “the negative societal perception of the snowboard culture existing in the 1980s and the early 1990s,” their website states.

They quickly caught traction and began to evolve at the request of their participants, offering more on-mountain days, adding mentorships and developing industry partners. They also began expanding to more ski areas in the United States, now operating in 15 communities across 10 states.

In 2015, they landed in Park City, and were welcomed with open arms, said Ehrlich.

“Park City is now equal to Vail, and Vail we’ve been in for 30 years in terms of most metrics of impact. And it is a lot to the uniqueness and the strength of the Park City community,” he said. “People who really want it to be better and who believe that everyone in a community should have equal opportunity.”

After almost 10 years operating in the Wasatch Back, SOS is expecting 525 participants this year, including 228 from Summit County, 237 from Wasatch County and 60 from Salt Lake City.

They primarily recruit paticipants through partnerships with the schools.

“We work with each of the schools in the Wasatch Back and Summit County. We identify teachers in the schools, who then recruit the kids, so there’s already the trusted relationship,” said Ehrlich.

The programming is curriculum-based, dedicated to personal development on and off the mountain. Positive decision making, how to communicate goal setting, how to advocate for yourself — these are a few of the skills SOS hopes to develop in addition to confidence in the sport.

Students can first get involved in the introductory program in fourth grade, which offers five days of skiing or snowboarding instruction over five weeks. Through SOS’ fundraising efforts and mountain partners, the cost of this program is $100, which includes lift tickets and gear.

Then from fifth through ninth grade, students are invited to participate in the mentor program, which partners four students with one adult mentor, an SOS volunteer. Once a month throughout the school year, students and their mentor meet up for on-mountain ski or snowboard days. This program is $150 for the student, which also includes lift tickets and gear.

“We have 75-year-old mentors who connect with 12-year-old kids, which is a very hard age to connect with,” said Ehrlich with a laugh. “And they’re able to do it because they both share a passion for being in the outdoors together.”

After kids have aged out of those programs, they can still be involved with SOS as junior mentors, paired with mentor groups to help teach and develop relationships with the younger students.

“This is the first year in Park City that we’ll have a class of junior mentors who are engaged in delivering the program,” said Ehrlich, with 14 junior mentors signed up to participate this season.

One of this year’s junior mentors is Meneses, who decided to give back to the program that meant so much to her.

“Because SOS was an impactful program for me, I wanted to keep being a part of it and I wanted other kids to experience what I experienced as a young participant in the program,” she said. “My goal is to not only help other kids gain confidence in their ski or snowboarding skills but to also have fun and enjoy being on the mountain and build connections with others.” 

Partnerships with Park City resorts like Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and Woodward have helped make these opportunities a reality for SOS participants, said Ehrlich. Also the support of gear manufacturers and rental shops, like Christy Sports, ensure the kids are provided the necessary gear at an accessible cost.

While it’s true that organizations like SOS are founded due to a brokenness in society, their existence is a much-needed remedy, said Ehrlich.

“There is a huge impact that happens just by being a part of what everyone else is able to do,” said Ehrlich. “We’re dedicated for the very long-term future of providing opportunities for kids to thrive through this amazing sport and through what is such a big part of the Park City environment,” he said. 

To learn more about SOS Outreach or to sign up for programming, visit their website, sosoutreach.org.