Description
The Sporting Woman Community Fund has grown from many requests over the years to provide material support and funding for the many endeavors women and girls have chosen to enrich their lives. We want to help women and girls get out and do something athletic, stretching themselves beyond what they ever imagined possible. Since 2003, as part of our Athletic Supporter program, we have given away over $50,000 to women and girls in our community because we believe in the power of their dreams.
The Fund is accessible to women and girls of all abilities and to dreamers, big and small.
In addition, the Fund has developed a curriculum called the Outside INitiative to encourage women underserved by the resources in our community to partner with Nature and learn about themselves from the outside in.
What is the Outside INitiative? We would not have been able to give you an exact answer one year ago and today, we can.
It began with a seed of an idea, the kind you find in a pine forest on a day that inspires imagination and possibility. It grew through our collaboration with the Empowerment Program, Denver Center for Crime Victims, and the Victim Services Network. The curriculum developed through insight and inspiration and its success is founded on the belief that creating access to Nature provides an opportunity for women to learn about themselves from the outside in.
We discovered that the Outside INitiative is one way to develop personal strengths, introduce self-care and create a supportive, sustainable community among women who are climbing beyond a disadvantage to touch the sky. Many of the participants noted they developed a greater understanding of the value of Nature as a way to lower their levels of stress. In fact, the participants connected with new people, discovered they are not alone and developed an appreciation for the power of mindfulness as it relates to creating change in their own lives.
The participants spent a night in a yurt, met a screech owl, touched a healing tree and learned to trust themselves again. Nature’s Educators brought a red-tailed hawk, a corn snake, a screech owl and other natives of the forest as an introduction to the power of diversity and co-existence.
More importantly, here’s what participants had to say about their experiences..."I have a better understanding of how nature can help me reduce stress and live a better life. I can go hiking in the mountains and not be too afraid. It’s ok to try new things." Someone else said "I can do anything with anyone whether I know them or not." Another participant said "silence doesn’t always kill."
It’s a powerful thing to hear someone say that "it was an unexpected moment to know there are women out there who are like me."
