2021 SOLE Holiday Silent Auction

Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education (SOLE) hosts our Holiday Silent Auction as part of our annual fall fundraising campaign to raise critical funding for our award-winning and nationally-recognized SnowSchool Experience program which serves over 600 underserved youth each year. During SOLE's annual fall fundraising campaign attendees are often treated to the Winter Wildlands Backcountry Film Festival - a series of juried and award-winning films – shown throughout the nation, and even internationally! In addition, SOLE always has a-rockin' raffle; and the SOLE Holiday Silent Auction with gifts from event sponsors including major gear manufacturers and local businesses; and other special surprises.

In 2016, we moved to an online format for the SOLE Holiday Silent Auction so supporters that aren't able to attend due to geographic or scheduling conflicts can still support our effort to get local area youth out on the snow to explore > achieve > lead!

Our mission is to provide transformational experiences which empower participants to become active learners and responsible stewards of their community and its environment.

We offer a wide range of experiential and outdoor education programming to achieve this mission, including day-based outdoor science experiences and multi-day interdisciplinary expeditions. Our aim is to provide highly intentional experiential and outdoor education programming for all stakeholders of this region, not just a select few.

With our local poverty rate of above 40% in our local schools, this task can seem daunting.

We believe we can rise to this challenge through acquiring the necessary funding from generous individuals, organizations, businesses, and corporations that choose to partner with SOLE to further our mission.

It is simple - to continue this critical work we must have the necessary resources in place. Our hosting of the Backcountry Film Festival each year, which includes our Holiday Silent Auction provides an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal. Patrons, event sponsors, and partners coupled with SOLE's continued ambition provide the necessary ingredients to provide these experiential education opportunities for the youth of our communities.

SOLE continues to focus on addressing our communities’ needs, especially that which relates to providing affordable and accessible experiential and outdoor education programming for our area youth. We use all proceeds and donations collected from our Backcountry Film Festival events to assist with providing the necessary resources for our winter Fieldwork Experience programming, including our nationally recognized and awarded SnowSchool Experience Program – the nations largest on-snow winter ecology program which serves over 450 underserved youths each year providing over 3,200 hours of on-the-snow direct instruction. Funding collected will be utilized for programming expenses, including securing the necessary gear and equipment to make these experiences safe and enjoyable. By funding this program we will be able to design and facilitate novel on-snow experiential learning opportunities for our area youth for another winter season, and in turn, develop future leaders who are outdoor enthusiasts with a sound wildland ethic.

The learning environment that we cultivate for our youth sets a trajectory for a lifetime. It is imperative that we all align to nurture the leaders and environmental stewards of tomorrow. Experiential and outdoor education supports a lifelong learning pattern that includes caring for our environment through personal exploration, achieving goals, and leading others - cornerstones of any SOLE Experience.

We would be honored if you would bid on our goods and services, and thank you for your sincere consideration. Thank you for supporting our work, and most importantly the youth of our communities.