Backcountry Film Festival Holiday Silent Auction

As a Winter Wildlands Alliance SnowSchool, Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education (SOLE) hosts the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival in Sandpoint, and other locales, to raise critical funding for our SnowSchool Experience program – part of the nations largest experiential, place-based education program which serves over 32,000 underserved youth each year. During SOLE's annual winter fundraising event attendees are treated to a series of juried and award-winning films – shown throughout the nation, and even internationally! In addition, SOLE always has a-rockin' raffle; Holiday Silent Auction with gifts from event sponsors including major gear manufacturers and local businesses; and other special surprises.

In 2016, SOLE moved to an online format for our 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.

13th Annual Backcountry Film Festival a Sandpoint Tradition.

OVERVIEW:

The snow will be flying before you know it, and when it does it will be that time to grab your skiing buddies and get ready for some serious community fun!

SOLE’s Annual Fundraiser -- the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival is back for the 13th world tour and will make a stop at the historic Panida Theater on December 1st, 2017.

This event is a community favorite, aimed to inspire winter adventurers to seek the snow less traveled, while raising critical funds and bringing awareness to SOLE's SnowSchool Experience Program that currently serves over 500 underserved youth. Produced by our partners, Boise-based nonprofit, the Winter Wildlands, the Backcountry Film Festival makes its world premiere in Boise, Idaho and will then tour to more than 100 showings around the world, including a stop in good ‘ole Sandpoint, Idaho!

With a series of award-winning and juried films (all which celebrate the human-powered experience), a great Holiday Silent auction with gifts from local vendors, artisans, businesses and gear vendors; fun raffle prizes; great brews; and the usual dose of special surprises -- this family-fun event is a cause worth supporting!

MORE SPECIFICS:
ALL event proceeds directly towards supporting SOLE’s SnowSchool Experience Program at Schweitzer Mountain Resort and beyond. SOLE's SnowSchool Experience Program at Schweitzer Mountain Resort was recently awarded the designation as a National SnowSchool Flagship Site due to the place-based experiential education curriculum that SOLE developed for this particular Field Campus Site. Currently, the curriculum offered focuses on a comprehensive watershed study which includes, snow science, winter ecology, conservation literacy, avalanche education, as well as the opportunity to develop outdoor living and travel skills. Your support will allow SOLE to 'reach and teach' over 450 local area youth each winter, so they can actually explore > achieve > lead in our winter wildlands.

With over 40% of program participants living in poverty, and over 60% experiencing snowshoeing and our local winter wildlands for the first time through this transformational experiential education program -- our needs are noteworthy!

So please join us to get stoked for the upcoming winter season, while doing some serious good.

Currently, a (3) day comprehensive SnowSchool Experience is offered at our Schweitzer Mountain Field Campus for all 5th graders in the Lake Pend Oreille School District. Also, through this and other efforts, SOLE will continue to expand programming services for local middle and high school class offerings, which will be highlighted during this year’s event to bring awareness to this program and our communities educational needs. SOLE will continue to partner with other private, public, and homeschool groups throughout the winter at various other field campus sites in the Inland Northwest.

During the 2016-17 school year, SOLE was able to serve 450 local area youth in the SnowSchool Experience Program because of Backcountry Film Festival patron support. Due to the previously mentioned socioeconomic barriers, many youths would not have access to these transformational experiential education programs outdoors without this support. In fact, based on last years survey responses over 60% of program participants had communicated that snowshoeing was a new experience for them, and over 80% shared that it was a positive educational experience. So why would we not support the opportunity to get our youth outdoors to explore and learn about their winter wildands?

Additional Info on SOLE’s SnowSchool Experience Program: http://soleexperiences.org/fieldwork-experiences/snowschool-experiences/

The Backcountry Film Festival is renowned for its mix of professional and grassroots films – from well-known filmmakers who search backcountry corners across the globe to submit their best work to first-timers who take a video camera out on their weekend excursions. The festival first toured in 2004 to highlight Winter Wildlands Alliance’s efforts to preserve and promote winter landscapes for human-powered users. From a single showing in Boise that first year, the festival has grown to include showings in locations throughout the United States and Canada and now in Antarctica, Europe, Australia and Asia. Funds raised stay in local communities to support like-minded, human-powered recreation and conservation efforts and to raise awareness of winter management issues, avalanche training/safety and winter education programs. Come take the ride and support a great cause while doing so!

THE LINE-UP (Coming SOON!):

Read descriptions of each film at:
http://winterwildlands.org/backcountry-film-festival/

TICKETS:
Advance ticket purchase is recommended. SOLE offers 2 ticket levels for this event:

$10 Advance General Admission Ticket (includes 1 raffle ticket) | $12 DOS
$20 Donation Ticket (includes 3 raffle tickets – and puts a local area youth on the snow for a day!)

Tickets will be available at the following local businesses: COMING SOON!

CAN'T GO? Make a donation today by visit:

http://soleexperiences.org/donate/

EVENT & PROGRAM SPONSORSHIP:

Let’s face it – there is no better way to showcase your business or organization than to become a Backcountry Film Festival or SnowSchool Experience Program Sponsor! Intentional programming of this magnitude is downright expensive, as is hosting fundraising events like the Backcountry Film Festival. As such, SOLE offers several sponsorship options to ensure that we are able to funnel event proceeds directly towards program expenses to provide these transformational experiential programs for our local area youth. As a result of your support, we are able to unplug and reconnect more local area youth to the outdoors to explore > achieve > lead!

Corporations, businesses, and individuals can also sponsor a specific student, class, school, youth program or entire SnowSchool Experience Field Campus by providing in-kind and/or financial support! This allows you to have the benefit of doing some good for our youth while getting some exposure for your business! If you are interested in any of these options or to learn more please contact us or view our Backcountry Film Festival Sponsorship Packet to showcase your business while doing some good by contacting us at: info@soleexperiences.org