{"id":2456633,"date":"2020-04-01T22:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T04:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/"},"modified":"2020-04-02T14:47:11","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T20:47:11","slug":"its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s on us\u201d: Challenge Aspen facilitates virtual connection among athletes, volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.6243902439024\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-323679-727\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1024x746.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Challenge Aspen program coordinator Callie Dickson, left, and program director Deb Sullivan, right, talk to participant Jen Arkin, center left, and her stepdad Bernie Weiss from their balcony during a now reoccurring Wednesday drive by in Aspen on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The duo also delivered a bingo card to play over zoom with other Challenge Aspen participants. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"3.4285714285714\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"17.632653061224\">\n<p><strong>Challenge Aspen program coordinator Callie Dickson, left, and program director Deb Sullivan, right, talk to participant Jen Arkin, center left, and her stepdad Bernie Weiss from their balcony during a now reoccurring Wednesday drive by in Aspen on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The duo also delivered a bingo card to play over zoom with other Challenge Aspen participants. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1024x746.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1024x746.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1024x746.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Challenge Aspen program coordinator Callie Dickson, left, and program director Deb Sullivan, right, talk to participant Jen Arkin, center left, and her stepdad Bernie Weiss from their balcony during a now reoccurring Wednesday drive by in Aspen on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The duo also delivered a bingo card to play over zoom with other Challenge Aspen participants. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Challenge Aspen program director Deb Sullivan, right, holds a sign and says hello to Stefan Knight during a Wednesday drive-by at Knight\u2019s home on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Even though Knight met them in the driveway, they made sure to abide by social distancing expectations. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"1.9487179487179\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14.615384615385\">\n<p><strong>Challenge Aspen program director Deb Sullivan, right, holds a sign and says hello to Stefan Knight during a Wednesday drive-by at Knight\u2019s home on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Even though Knight met them in the driveway, they made sure to abide by social distancing expectations. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/challengeaspen-atd-040220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Challenge Aspen program director Deb Sullivan, right, holds a sign and says hello to Stefan Knight during a Wednesday drive-by at Knight\u2019s home on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Even though Knight met them in the driveway, they made sure to abide by social distancing expectations. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Last week, Challenge Aspen created a new private Facebook group to help its staff, volunteers and athletes stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This week, the Snowmass-based nonprofit is taking it a step further, rolling out a daily virtual programming schedule that promotes interaction, creativity and overall wellness through the new Facebook group and other social media platforms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere\u2019s just nothing we can do physically right now,\u201d said Deb Sullivan, Recreational, Educational and Cultural (REC) Program director for Challenge Aspen. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to do something that\u2019s social but doesn\u2019t require connecting physically and have a long list of things to pull out of the hat in the weeks to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On March 12, Challenge Aspen announced it was canceling all of its remaining winter programs, lessons and retreats for veterans and individuals faced with cognitive and\/or physical disabilities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=news%20article&amp;utm_campaign=donation\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Since then, Sullivan and Callie Dickson, REC Program coordinator, have headed brainstorming on ways the nonprofit\u2019s participants \u2014 mainly the 30 in the local program but national participants, too \u2014 volunteers and staff can continue to spend time together in a way that\u2019s safe and respects the county\u2019s \u201cstay at home\u201d order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re really in a trial-and-error period and plan to throw a lot at them,\u201d Dickson said of the new virtual programming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe want to normalize this weird time for everyone and make sure our participants know Challenge Aspen is still here as resource for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Last week, Sullivan and Dickson did \u201cdrive-bys\u201d to each local participant\u2019s home, dropping off art kits donated by the Art Base in Basalt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The REC program administrators said that many participants have underlying health conditions that may put them at a higher risk for getting the novel coronavirus, which is why it\u2019s so important they limit in-person contact with people outside of their homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">However, Sullivan and Dickson also said many participants rely mainly on their weekly social interactions through Challenge Aspen to connect with others and may completely self-isolate otherwise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis is really important because a lot of our participants come into Challenge Aspen one or two times a week to see their peers and coaches,\u201d Dickson said. \u201cIt\u2019s on us to make sure they\u2019re still able to have that connection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">During its first week of new virtual programming, Challenge Aspen plans to host fun surveys, story chains, art museum tours and a themed drive-by visit. There also are plans for Netflix watch parties, musical therapy, book clubs and interactive cooking with Sullivan in the works.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But beyond the nonprofit\u2019s virtual initiatives, some volunteers and staff are already maintaining connection with Challenge Aspen participants on their own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Esteban \u201cSteve\u201d Ferrer said he calls and texts the Challenge Aspen athlete he usually skis with at least once a week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Chris Tullar, who skis with the same athlete as Ferrer, said he also checks in on his \u201cbuddy\u201d and hopes to set up a Wii game session via Zoom with her and his family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Both men referred to their efforts as simply checking in on a friend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cA big part of your overall wellness is being socially connected,\u201d Tullar said. \u201cI encourage people to reach out to grandparents or others in the higher risk demographic and in more isolation to help keep this connection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For Chris Guay, who has been skiing competitively with Challenge Aspen for roughly eight years, these friendly virtual interactions and connections make all of the difference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Since Challenge Aspen canceled its remaining winter programming and the NASTAR National Championships \u2014 <a id=\"N0x1f82040N0x1fb3bf0:N0x1f82040N0x1e63e08\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/challenge-aspen-athletes-excited-honored-to-compete-at-nastar-nationals-in-snowmass\/\">which Guay was looking forward to competing in<\/a> \u2014 were called off, Guay said he\u2019s kept up with the new Facebook group, gone on lots of walks and hikes and is working on an art project with a \u201cThe Greatest Showman\u201d theme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He also said it hasn\u2019t always been easy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis sucks. There\u2019s really not a lot to do,\u201d Guay said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">However, Guay expressed gratitude for still being able to virtually connect with his friends at Challenge Aspen and is doing his best to stay positive while in self-quarantine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s great to see how people are doing,\u201d Guay said. \u201cI just keep thinking positive and hope it goes away soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/its-on-us-challenge-aspen-facilitates-virtual-connection-among-athletes-volunteers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Challenge Aspen program coordinator Callie Dickson, left, and program director Deb Sullivan, right, talk to participant Jen Arkin, center left, and her stepdad Bernie Weiss from their balcony during a now reoccurring Wednesday drive by in Aspen on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The duo also delivered a bingo card to play over zoom with other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 06:41:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2456656,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456633\/revisions\/2456656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}