Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park

 

Miracles Happen Here

  

A Proposal to Build an Adaptive Ski Facility

at Bottineau Winter Park to teach disabled children, young adults, and wounded warriors from across North Dakota and Manitoba How to Ski

Bottineau, North Dakota

July 2011 ver. 9.0

  

A joint proposal of The Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau Community Foundation,

and The New York Says Thank You Foundation

T H E  N E W  Y O R K  S A Y S  T H A N K  Y O U  F O U N D A T I O N

 

From one day of terror, 10 years of Kindness

 

 
 

                                                                                                         July __, 2011

Dear Donator

 

We are writing to invite you to support a very special volunteer project in commemoration of the upcoming10th year Anniversary of 9/11 as The New York Says Thank You Foundation, working in partnership with The Bottineau Winter Park and Bottineau Community Foundation helps to establish Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park – North Dakota’s first adaptive ski facility to teach disabled children, young adults, and wounded warriors how to ski.

 

Named after Ann Nelson, a resident of Stanley, North Dakota who died in the 9/11 attacks, and modeled after the Adaptive Sports Foundation in Windham, New York, the country’s only stand alone adaptive ski lodge for disabled skiers, Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park will transform the lives of thousands of North Dakota residents with cognitive and physical disabilities by providing them and their families a platform for healthy outdoor recreation during the long winter months as well as a year-round facility to enjoy other adaptive sports.

 

New York Says Thank You Foundation working in partnership with Bottineau Winter Park and Bottineau Community Foundation is seeking to raise $1,500,000 to help finance the building materials and construction costs to build Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park. This grant will leverage an estimated $300,000 in volunteer labor and donated materials. Over $700,000 has already been pledged in cash and in-kind donations of labor, materials, and services. The goal is to have the capital campaign fully funded by September 11, 2011 with construction beginning in May 2012.

 

We would be honored if you would consider being a lead sponsor of this statewide and national service initiative in North Dakota to commemorate the 10th year Anniversary of September 11 and transform the lives of North Dakota’s disabled population by supporting our effort with a leadership grant of $________. This grant will help pay for the building materials and related construction costs and leverage thousands of hours of volunteer labor we expect to generate from hundreds of volunteers from across the United States and Canada who will be travelling to North Dakota in 2012 to help make Annie’s House a reality.

 

About The New York Says Thank You Foundation

 

Started in 2003 at the suggestion of a 5-year-old boy, The New York Says Thank You Foundation has grown into one of the Nation’s leading organizations to transform the 9/11 Anniversary into a positive, hands-on platform for national volunteer service.

 

Each year on the 9/11 Anniversary, The New York Says Thank You Foundation sends large groups of New York City firefighters (many of them survivors of The World Trade Center attacks), along with 9/11 family members, Ground Zero construction workers, New York City schoolchildren and scores of other volunteers from NYC to help rebuild communities around the U.S. recovering from disaster. It is our way of saying “Thank You” for all the love and support Americans from across the country extended to New Yorkers in the days, weeks, and months following 9/11. It is also our way of commemorating the extraordinary sense of kindness and service that united our Nation on 9/12.

 

We are joined each year by hundreds of local volunteers in all our rebuilding efforts as well as by a growing group of disaster survivor volunteers from all the communities around the U.S. we have assisted on previous anniversaries of 9/11 and who continually volunteer each year at subsequent rebuilding projects as their way to “Pay It Forward.” This group includes San Diego wildfire survivors, Hurricane Katrina survivors from Slidell, Louisiana, and tornado survivors from Utica, IL, DeGonia Springs, IN, Groesbeck, TX, Greensburg, KS, Little Sioux, Iowa, and most recently Mena, Arkansas where we built a 4-H Community Center and three family homes on the 9/11 Anniversary 2010.

 

We expect 250-300 volunteers from the above communities around the U.S. to join us in Bottineau, ND for our 9/11 Anniversary 2012 project to help build Annie’s House.

 

Nearly 8,000 people nationwide have participated in New York Says Thank You’s annual 9/11 Anniversary rebuilding projects and we have been privileged to partner with leading civic and faith-based organizations in all our projects including Boy Scouts of America, 4-H Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Mennonite Disaster Relief Services, United Way, and Lions Clubs. Our organization has also been featured on over 1,100 television news programs nationwide and we were honored as “Persons of the Week” on ABC World News Tonight on September 11, 2009 

 

A Brief Background on Ann Nelson of Stanley, ND and this Special Grant Request

 

Ann Nicole Nelson was a resident of Stanley, North Dakota. She perished on 9/11 while working at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A true “citizen of the world” who valued cultural exchange, Ann traveled extensively and would forgo the usual tourist destinations to interact with poor children in countries like Peru, China, and Ireland. She was passionate about skiing and she was also passionate about social justice issues for children, women, and those less fortunate and disadvantaged.

Two years after Ann’s passing on 9/11, Ann’s mother Jenette Nelson opened up Ann’s laptop computer and on it, she found a list called the “top 100.” It was Ann’s “Bucket List” –

all the things Ann wanted to do and pursue in her lifetime. She had listed 36 items. 37 was numbered but left blank. It was very much a work in progress. One of the items on Ann’s List was to one day return to North Dakota and buy a home.

 

In January 2010, representatives of The New York Says Thank You Foundation traveled to Bottineau, North Dakota to visit with Ann’s parents, Gary and Jenette Nelson, to discuss the possibility of doing something special in Ann’s honor for an upcoming 9/11 Anniversary project. They suggested to build Annie’s home and turn it into a structure that would bring to life those dreams on Ann’s list, while adding unique value to the people of North Dakota and neighboring Canada, and address a social concern that Annie would have wanted to address. And thus the dream of Annie’s House was born.

 

On September 10th 2010, Ann’s father Gary Nelson, and New York Says Thank You Foundation founder Jeff Parness sat one block from Ground Zero discussing the impossible question, “What would Ann have wanted us to do?”

 

Moments later the spark was lit. Ann loved skiing. She loved children. And she loved showing those who were less fortunate and disadvantaged all the wonderful possibilities in the world. And that’s when the idea of “Annie’s House” became clear – to build a ski facility to teach disabled children, young adults, and wounded warriors how to ski.

 

The Plan for Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park

 

Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park will be a two and one-half story, 12,000 square foot ski lodge that will replace the existing lodge at Bottineau Winter Park with a new facility designed to accommodate the needs of skiers with both physical and cognitive disabilities from across North Dakota and neighboring Manitoba. 50% the public space in the new facility will support the adaptive ski program and needs of disabled skiers and their families. This will be the first facility in North Dakota focused on empowering disabled skiers and their families to enjoy outdoor sports during the winter while also providing a year-round facility to accommodate other adaptive sports like fishing, canoeing, waterskiing, and horseback riding. By integrating the adaptive program and facility under the same roof with the general population, Bottineau Winter Park will be able to leverage shared infrastructure and management resources to accommodate both skier populations and their families.

 

Bottineau Winter Park currently serves 10,000 to12,000 skier visits each season within a 150 mile driving radius of the resort. 25% of the skiers using the facility come from Canada. By building Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park, we believe we can greatly expand the marketplace, radius, and diversity of the users of the Bottineau Winter Park by offering a program that can potentially attract thousands of disabled children, young adults, wounded warriors - and their families - from rural communities across North Central North Dakota, from large population centers such as Minot and Bismarck, from Native American communities including Belcourt and New Town, and from the neighboring communities in Canada and as far away as Winnipeg who currently have no facilities or programs to accommodate the needs of disabled skiers.

 

Annie’s House provides a unique solution to meet an unmet need of the physically and mentally disabled populations of North Dakota and neighboring Manitoba

 

Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park will provide an integrated, adaptive ski facility and program to accommodate the needs of disabled children and young adults with both cognitive disabilities such as autism, mental retardation, and Down’s Syndrome, and physical disabilities such as blindness, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injuries among others.

 

In addition, the Annie’s House adaptive ski program will be designed to provide adaptive ski equipment and programming for wounded warriors newly returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and challenged with physical disabilities resulting from amputation and traumatic brain injury.

 

These capabilities will be offered over time as the staff at the Bottineau Winter Park builds and trains their pool of volunteer ski instructors to accommodate the specialized needs of these skiers faced with these types of cognitive and physical disabilities.

 

The opportunity for Annie’s House is significant as there are currently no adaptive ski programs or facilities in North Dakota dedicated to serving the needs of children, young adults, or wounded warriors challenged with cognitive and physical disabilities.

 

There is a sizable market for Annie’s House Adaptive Ski Facility and Program.

In North Dakota approximately 1 in 8 children have special health-care needs as defined by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. About 16,500 or 12.2% of children younger than 18 have special health care needs (#'s based on 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health-Care Needs.) About 40% live in urban core areas and just over one-third live in small towns or isolated rural areas.

 

Another way to assess the special needs population is to look at the number of children enrolled in special education. In North Dakota, the number of children enrolled in special education was 13,261 or 14% of the general population (Kids Count Data Center Org, 2009).  The special education population was broken down in four categories of disabilities including emotionally disturbed, speech/language impaired, specific learning disability; and mentally handicapped. North Dakota has about 514 kids with autism and autism spectrum disorder. 

 

In the ten counties in North Dakota currently served by Bottineau Winter Park Below there are an estimated 2,800 children receiving special education services. The breakdown is as follows: Bottineau County (114 students/14.3%); Ward County (1,328 students/15.1%); Pierce County (74 students /11.9%); Rolette County (177 students/6.2%); McHenry County (126 students/ 14.5%); Renville County (91 students/ 15.7%); Burke County (53 students/ 21.9%); Divide County (26 students/ 11.1%); Mountrail (229 students/ 15.8%) and; Williams  (593 students/ 18.3%).

 

The above numbers do not include the population of children and young adults with cognitive and physical disabilities on the Canadian side of the border in Manitoba. Nor do these numbers include wounded warriors going through warrior transition programs on military bases across North Dakota including Minot Strategic Air Command. Finally, these numbers do not include those potential users of the Annie’s House adaptive ski facility and program who are beyond the current driving range of the existing customer base of Bottineau Winter Park and who may be drawn to the Annie’s House adaptive ski facility and program, thereby increasing the overall market size and radius of disabled skiers to use the new facility.

 

Creating the “Annie’s House Community” to Sustain the Adaptive Ski Program

 

Since November 2010, New York Says Thank You Foundation along with Cynthia Jelleberg, a Board Member of The Bottineau Winter Park, and Ann’s mother Jenette Nelson, who was a Director of a multi-district Special Education unit in northwestern North Dakota, have reached out to numerous social service organizations in North Dakota to determine the need for and viability of the Annie’s House adaptive ski facility and program at the Bottineau Winter Park. The response to Annie’s House has been overwhelmingly positive.

 

Organizations we have so far reached out to include:

·         North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities

·         Family Voices of North Dakota

·         North Dakota Association of Community Providers

·         Anne Carlson Center

·         Special Olympics of North Dakota

·         Easter Seals

 

It is our intention to create an Annie’s House Advisory Council made up of representatives of the above established organizations as well as Minot State University’s Special Education Department to get their input in the design of the Annie’s House adaptive ski facility and program and to get their commitment to help with the ongoing operations of the adaptive ski facility including the scheduling of disabled skiers, the recruiting and training of volunteer ski instructors, and assistance with fundraising to support the growth and maintenance of the adaptive ski program.

 

In addition to the above social service organizations, we are also in the process of reaching out to representatives from the Strategic Air Command base in Minot, as well as the local Native American communities in Belcourt and New Town, and representatives of social service organizations on the Canadian side of the border to include their participation in the Annie’s House Advisory Council as well.

 

Beyond the physical structure, we believe that building the “Annie’s House Community” will create a unique sense of ownership among the various constituency groups in North Dakota and Canada who will benefit most from the adaptive ski facility and program and from where the Board and management of the Bottineau Winter Park will continue to pull human and financial resources for the ongoing operations of the Annie’s House adaptive ski program.

 

Leveraging the Success of The Adaptive Sports Foundation

 

As part of the design and planning for the Annie’s House adaptive ski facility and program at Bottineau Winter Park, we have been privileged to form a special relationship with the leadership and management team at The Adaptive Sports Foundation in Windham, NY (ASF), the country’s only stand alone ski lodge dedicated to serving the needs of disabled children, young adults, and wounded warriors.

 

Kim Seevers, Director of Operations at The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) has agreed to become the first member of the Annie’s House Advisory Council and their organization has committed to transfer their knowledge and expertise to the Board and management at Bottineau Winter Park in order to leverage ASF’s 25 years of experience in serving the needs of disabled skiers and providing year-round access to other adaptive sports programs.

 

To date, Adaptive Sports Foundation has already shared their plans and insights on building design, as well as their business plans and financial grant applications, and most importantly their insights on how to build and sustain a successful volunteer-driven adaptive ski program.

 

They have also hosted two in-depth onsite visits to help in the knowledge transfer and have expressed their willingness to send their staff members, including Kim Seevers, to train the ski-instructor volunteers and other volunteers who will ultimately help to operate and sustain Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park.

 

Stimulating the Local Bottineau and North Dakota Economy through Annie’s House

 

Based on ski industry research from the National Ski Area Association’s (NSAA) Model for Growth, and based on the experience of The Adaptive Sports Foundation in Windham, NY, and their research on the economic impact of providing adaptive ski programming to disabled skiers and their families, it is estimated that for every $1 spent on empowering a disabled skier the opportunity to ski, $7 is generated for the local resort community. This multiplier is a result of the family joining the disabled skier on the slopes and at the resort (usually both parents and one sibling), as well as the incremental revenue generated from rentals, lessons, tickets, food, and lodging generated by the entire family.

 

Also, once an adaptive program is established at a ski resort it tends to generate significant repeat visits for the disabled skier and their family as they become loyal to the facility that provides the necessary equipment and programming to enable the disabled skier to enjoy the outdoor physical recreation with their entire family.

 

Finally, as Bottineau Winter Park is currently used primarily by day trippers who visit the ski resort during its limited days of operations (Thursday through Sunday), Annie’s House has the significant potential to transform Bottineau Winter Park into a destination resort for skiers faced with cognitive and physical disabilities and their families from a much wider radius than the resort currently serves. 

 

By building Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park, we believe we can greatly expand the marketplace, radius, and diversity of the users of the Bottineau Winter Park by offering a program that can potentially attract thousands of disabled children, young adults, wounded warriors - and their families - from rural communities across North Central North Dakota, from large population centers such as Minot and Bismarck, from Native American communities including Belcourt and New Town, and from the neighboring communities in Canada and as far away as Winnipeg who currently have no facilities or programs to accommodate the needs of disabled skiers.

 

Creating Unique and Lasting Cultural Exchange through the volunteer building project  

 

Lastly, as The New York Says Thank You Foundation is focused on bringing together diverse populations of people from all parts of the United States and from diverse local cultures to work together with our core group of New York City firefighters on the 9/11 Anniversary weekend, we hope this project will also honor Ann Nelson’s commitment to diversity and cultural exchange by bringing together diverse populations from North Dakota including physically and mentally challenged children and young adults, and pairing them up with local wounded warriors, members of the Native American community, and first responders from Canada to help in the physical construction of Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park. By enabling all these communities to work shoulder to shoulder in construction of the physical building, and by inviting them to add their local artwork, craftsmanship, traditions, foods, and languages to this collective building process, we hope to foster a unique sense of ownership and pride among these various constituencies which will ensure lasting participation and support of the ongoing adaptive ski program at Annie’s House. 

 

Financial Grant will Leverage Significant In-Kind Labor Contribution

 

New York Says Thank You Foundation working in partnership with Bottineau Winter Park and Bottineau Area Community Foundation is seeking to raise $1,500,000 to help finance the building materials and related construction costs to build Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park. The budget breakdown is as follows:

 

•     $1,200,000 for the construction services and building materials to build and finish out

the 12,000 square foot, two and one-half story structure

•     $100,000 for an elevator to make all levels handicap accessible

•     $100,000 for site preparation and demolition

•     $100,000 for new infrastructure (water, gas, electric)

 

We estimate this grant will leverage an estimated $300,000 in volunteer labor and donated in-kind materials and services. Over $700,000 has already been pledged in cash and in-kind donations of labor, materials, and services. The goal is to have the capital campaign fully funded by September 11, 2011 with construction of Annie’s House beginning in May 2012.

 

In the event the capital campaign to construct Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park is fully funded at $1,500,000 and through this nationwide volunteer effort the overall construction costs are reduced through the contribution of volunteer labor and in-kind donations of materials and other services, the differential in savings realized will be utilized to pay for volunteer program expenses directly related to the construction of Annie’s House up to a total of $75,000 and any remaining funds will be restricted to support the ongoing program and operating expenses of the Annie’s House adaptive ski program.

 

None of the funds being requested are to pay for any non-program related administrative overhead of The New York Says Thank You Foundation as these expenses are covered by select family foundations, corporate underwriters, and Board Members of the Foundation.

 

We would be honored if you would consider being a lead sponsor of this statewide and national service initiative in North Dakota to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of September 11 and help us transform the lives of North Dakota’s disabled population by supporting our effort to build Annie’s House with a leadership grant of $_________.

 

Fiscal Oversight of this Grant

 

Tax deductible contributions to support Annie’s House capital campaign and ongoing operating expenses can be sent to the local 501c3 fiscal sponsor for this project: Bottineau Area Community Foundation, attn: Annie’s House, 519 Main Street, Bottineau, North Dakota 58318. Their EIN Tax ID # is 26-3121314 and their telephone is 701-228-3922.

 

In addition, The New York Says Thank You Foundation would be honored to receive and administer any financial contributions to support this special building project. The New York Says Thank You Foundation is a registered 501c3 charitable tax-exempt organization and our EIN# is 20-1554830. For the past few years, we have acted as the pass-through fiscal agent for numerous building projects nationwide, most recently for the Polk County 4-H Foundation and Polk County Long Term Recovery Committee in Mena, Arkansas where we helped build the 4-H Community Center and three family homes.

 

Timing

 

Our goal is to have the $1.5Million Annie’s House capital campaign fully funded by the tenth year Anniversary of 9/11 -- September 11, 2011 -- with construction beginning in May 2012.

Representatives of The New York Says Thank You Foundation and the Board of the Bottineau Winter Park would be happy to meet with you at your first available opportunity, or arrange a conference call to discuss this grant request and explore ways to maximize volunteer participation in this rebuilding effort from across the state of North Dakota.

 

On behalf of Ann Nelson’s parents, Gary and Jenette Nelson, and our North Dakota partners at Bottineau Winter Park and Bottineau Area Community Foundation, I sincerely appreciate your consideration of this special grant request. I genuinely believe we have the opportunity to fund a very special initiative by the 10th year Anniversary of 9/11 that will honor the memory of Ann Nicole Nelson, transform the lives of thousands of children and families across North Dakota challenged with cognitive and physical disabilities, provide meaningful volunteer opportunities for those wanting to service North Dakota’s special needs community, and lift the spirits of North Dakota’s wounded warriors.

 

I can be reached on my direct line at 917-806-8061 and I look forward to answering any questions you may have about this special grant request and volunteer service opportunity.

 

With my sincere gratitude,

 

/s/ Jeff Parness

 

Jeff Parness

Founder & Chairman

The New York Says Thank You Foundation

 

 

cc:  Wally, Brandjord, Chairman, Board of Directors Bottineau Winter Park

Gary & Jenette Nelson, Stanley, ND

 

Enclosures:

National non-profit partner references

NYSTY Foundation IRS 501c3 determination letter

NYSTY Foundation Board of Directors list

NYSTY Foundation Donor list

 

Audited Financials available on our website Foundation page at www.NewYorkSaysThankYou.org

 

 

 

THE NEW YORK SAYS THANK YOU FOUNDATION

The mission of The New York Says Thank You Foundation is to commemorate the generosity extended to New Yorkers by Americans from all across the country in the days, weeks, and months following 9/11, by sending volunteers from New York City each year on the 9/11 anniversary to various communities around the country affected by natural or man-made disasters, in order to perform acts of community service, renewal, and rebuilding. The New York Says Thank You Foundation is registered as a charitable tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is incorporated under section 402 of the New York State Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. For more information, please see  www.NewYorkSaysThankYou.org