Starting this spring, Cadets will have the opportunity to participate in a year-round youth development program! Cadets participating in this program will have the opportunity to participate in both the Summer & Winter programs but will also get the chance to attend field trips, trainings, and complete service projects during the shoulder months.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM & BENEFITS 

The new program takes all the great things that volunteers loved about the summer & winter Cadet programs and combines them into a cohesive, year-round program. Besides spending a year making new friends and connecting with the Chester Bowl community, Cadets will:

• Develop job readiness skills to help prepare them for their first jobs
• Develop the leadership skills 
• Take part in community service opportunities
• Take part in skill development focused on: skiing, snowboarding, camp skills, instruction skills, working in the terrain park, learning about chairlifts, learning how to work with children, learning how to mediate disagreements, and many other skills
• Cadets will have the chance to gain CPR/First Aid certifications 

Participants in the year round program will get receive the following benefits: 

• Free food during the winter program
• A personalized jacket with their name on it
• A free season pass (for year-round Cadets only)
• Free leadership trainings and certifications 

At the conclusion of each year, Cadets will be presented with a certificate of completion and the opportunity to use Chester Bowl as a reference as they apply for their first jobs.

Our year-round AmeriCorps member, Beth Carroll will be coordinating this new program, working with and providing support for Cadets. Beth comes to Chester with a wealth of experience working with youth in camp settings and we are excited to have her part of this first year of programming.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE 

This new program will kick off in May and run through April of the following year. There will be the same organized programming but we will be sprinkling in leadership trainings, field trips, and opportunities to do work within the community during the shoulder season. The commitment from year-round participants is between 10-15 hours a month with opportunities to volunteer more during the summer and winter months when we have programming. Most events will be optional with the exception of orientations. Here is a breakdown of the year-round Cadet program’s schedule:

• Year-Round Program Registration (March-May): Open to Cadets who are currently or will be going into 7th grade during the winter of their year of service.
• Summer Only Cadet  Registration: Open to Cadets who have finished 7th grade and only want to volunteer during camp.
• Summer Camp Orientation (May) 
• Summer Camp (June-August): Cadets will volunteer during the summer spending time at each site. Cadets will receive weekly leadership training sessions at camp and will be supervised by Cadet Coordinators (summer camp staff)
• Summer Event/Trip(August) 
• Fall Fest (September): Cadets will volunteer during Fall Fest helping during the event.
• Fall Camp (October): Cadets will have the chance to volunteer during Fall Camp.
• Fall Service Project (October): To provide an opportunity for Cadets to help within the community.
• Winter Only Cadet  Registration: Open to Cadets who are currently enrolled in 7th grade and want to volunteer during winter only.
• Winter Orientation (November/December)
• Winter Program (December-March): Cadets will help during lessons, Freestyle Fridays, Girls Shred, Winter Carnival, Alpine Race Series. 
• Winter Trip (February/March) 
• Graduation (April): After finishing the year of service, Cadets will receive a certificate of completion and have the opportunity to attend an event to celebrate their achievements. 
• Leadership Classes: These will be held during winter & summer programming.
• Monthly Gatherings (April, May, September, & October)

REGISTRATION & COSTS & BENEFITS

Registration for the year round program is open now through May 1, 2025. Follow this link to get registered for the year round program. The cost for the year round program is $200 and includes a free season pass during the winter. Cadets may still need to pay for the larger field trips but the $200 covers all the other expenses of participating in the program. If the $200 fee is a hardship for your family, please email sam@chesterbowl.org for information about a possible scholarship. 

Program Pricing, Benefits, and Grade Requirements 

	Year Round Cadet Program	Summer Only Program	Winter Only
Costs/Cadet	$200	$100	$100
Personalized Jacket	Yes	No	Yes
Leadership Training	Yes	Yes	Yes
Field Trips	Yes	No	No
Season Pass (winter)	Yes ($85 value)	No	No
Grade Requirement	Finished or entering 7th grade	Must have completed 7th grade	Must be in or completed 7th grade

SEASONAL VOLUNTEERING OPTIONS 

Not ready to commit to a whole year of volunteering? We will be continuing to offer just Summer and Winter volunteer options. The cost to participate in either the summer or winter is $100 each but you won’t be eligible for a free season pass in the winter.  Follow this link to register for the summer program. 

Chester Bowl’s Winter Carnival is on Saturday, February 22, from 1-4pm. You can expect lots of Chester-themed games and activities (with prizes, of course), a hayride, and a ton of fun for everyone! The Carnival is free; a Chester Bowl season or day pass is required to ride the lift.

We recognize that Summer Camp can be too expensive for many families to afford. We are excited to be able to offer scholarships to support families in need so that they can be part of Chester’s summer programs.

The scholarship request period opens on February 10 and closes on February 26. 

Scholarship funding was raised through Fall Fest gate donations, an annual silent auction and raffle, the November Warren Miller film screening, donations from individuals and businesses, and through a generous grant of $12,500 from Essentia Health Community Contributions.

Total scholarship awards are limited to $32,750, and we do expect requests to exceed funding that is available. We will be prioritizing the families with the greatest need.

Please fill out this form by February 26 to request a scholarship.

All families requesting scholarship support will be required to pay the $75 registration fee even if they are otherwise awarded a full scholarship. Chester Bowl staff will contact families by the end of the day February 28 to share scholarship award results so that families know their scholarship award before registration opens. Each camper will receive one week of summer camp at no charge beyond the registration fee. The remaining funds will be dispersed to families based on their need as described by the current HUD income guidelines.

We expect that scholarships will be fully awarded based on the requests, so please register by February 26! Once families register we will apply their scholarships to their balance and then parents are responsible for paying their balance by May 1, 2025 or they will forfeit their camp spots. Please note that receiving a scholarship does not guarantee registration- you will still need to sign up for camp while there are open weeks.

For more information on summer camp, please click this link.

We are always amazed and inspired by the generosity of the Chester Bowl Community. Thank you for stepping up for us once again!

With only two days left in our match period, we still needed to raise $1,378 to obtain our full match. With the deadline looming, 24 of you donated a total of nearly $7,000 to bring us to $55,603 raised!

Then, right at the end, we had two donors that wanted to make sure that we didn’t just meet our goal, we smashed it. One anonymous supporter donated $10,000! Loll Designs donated to Growing Up Chester for the fifth consecutive year. Their $5,000 contribution brings their total support for Chester Bowl to $100,000!!!

That brings our final fundraising total during this match period to $70,603, ensuring that we will receive the full $50,000 match from our generous anonymous donor.

We appreciate every single one of you that has donated to Growing Up Chester over the years. We have had this ambitious dream completely renovate and expand the beloved Thom Storm Chalet. That dream came with a big price tag- $3,850,000. Thanks to all of you, the project is now 88% funded, with just $450,000 left to raise!

What’s next? We will continue to raise money to fill that funding gap. We expect to be able to access the $2.3 million LCCMR grant in July; at that point we will begin the next stage of design work for the building.

Part of our fundraising strategy in the next six months includes approaching additional businesses about supporting Growing Up Chester. If your place of work is philanthropically minded, or you think it should be, please reach out to Dave (dave@chesterbowl.org) to help us make the connection! And, as always, you can still make a donation to Growing Up Chester- look for the green “DONATE TODAY” button.

Opening Day is Saturday, December 14! The lift will be running from 11 am until 4:30 pm Saturday, and again on Sunday. We hope you join us for opening weekend on the slopes at Chester Bowl.

Check out all the tabs under “Winter at Chester Bowl” for more details on our programming.