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stability”, as he puts it, the life-skills sessions have also
taught him how to “control my anger in positive ways”.
For Charlish, this testimony is proof that the actual
experience of skiing or snowboarding can be extremely
beneficial beyond the slopes.
“Snow sports really are uniquely powerful as a
youth-work tool,” he says. “Everyone is a beginner. Try
it with football or climbing, say, and there’s always
the same hierarchy – the big kids will be good at it.
But something like skiing is so foreign that the big
kid might fall on his face and have to learn to laugh at
himself, while the small kid might learn more quickly
and his self-esteem will go through the roof.”
Then there’s the cool factor. “Engaging young people
in the first place is the hardest part of any youth
work. We’ve tried it all and it’s always a challenge to
reach these kids. They can be ambivalent and need
motivating. The thing about this is that it seems such
an outlandish thing for them that even the super-cool
ones realise they have to grab this opportunity.”
Unsurprisingly, the charity has found a huge
number of supporters in the ski industry, including
patrons such as Ed Leigh and Graham Bell, presenters
of the UK television programme
Ski Sunday
and top
Brit ski-racer Chemmy Alcott. Still, isn’t the world of
winter sports rather costly? How is it all funded?
“The trick is to have as diverse a range of funding
streams as possible,” he says. “So we apply to a number
of grant providers and foundations, and we currently
have three or four big supporters there. We also get
funding from councils and youth services, although
these avenues are decreasing.”
Other revenue streams include a four-year funding
agreement with Snowsport England, the national
governing body, as well as corporate sponsorship,
organised events and contributions from donors.
“Obviously, skiers and snowboarders are usually our
best supporters,” says Charlish. “They easily get why
the charity can make a difference, as they know what
skiing and snowboarding has done for them.”
Despite all this, trying to find enough money each
year remains a challenge for Charlish – especially as
the company grows. However, his latest idea might just
solve the problem. He’s designed a website that allows
shoppers to search through a variety of snow-sports
brands – a little like comparison engine GoCompare.
Every time a buyer clicks through to one of these
brands, Snow-Camp will earn a small commission.
“It’s not a new idea,” says Charlish of the site,
SnowGiver.com. “But it doesn’t seem to exist in the ski
and snowboarding world, and I thought it might work
if we can pull enough brands together, enable people
to buy everything they want for snow sports at no extra
cost and make something for Snow-Camp”
In short, it could just be a great idea that lots of
people will benefit from – much like the charity itself.
“Engaging young people in
the first place is the hardest
part of any youthwork”
Gaining ability on
the slopes gives the
kids confidence,
motivation and
aspirations
Snow-Camp helps
kids develop
off-piste skills as well
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