Roaring Fork Valley nonprofit wants to expand scholarships for those on autism spectrum

Ascendigo Autism Services is launching an “Adventure for All” fundraising campaign, an initiative aiming to expand access to outdoor adventure programs for youth and adults on the autism spectrum.

Ascendigo has been offering scholarships for their adventure sports programming for years. Its Annual Giving and Events Manager Grace Sinclair said making those activities accessible is one of the organization’s biggest priorities.

“The growing need is there for individuals on the autism scale who are local and nationwide,” Sinclair said. “For the local Latino and low-income community, we want to make sure we’re always providing accessibility.”

Proceeds from the campaign will directly support the Bil Rieger Scholarship Fund, a longstanding source of financial aid. Rieger was a previous owner of Aspen’s Kenichi, Sinclair confirmed, and he use to host an event for Ascendigo to help raise scholarship funds.

“When he passed away, we wanted to continue to honor that,” she said.

Funding scholarships since 2011, the program currently allocates $70,000 to $90,000 annually, opening doors to Ascendigo’s year-round programming. This includes summer camps, fall and winter adventures, and personalized outdoor experiences.

The goal of the campaign is to reach $100,000. In order to achieve this goal, the Allen family has pledged a $20,000 matching gift, doubling the impact of every donation received.

“The family that donated this pledge has been attending the summer camp for a long time,” Sinclair said. “They’re a very big part of Ascendigo.

Ascendigo impacts 225 lives each year of youth and adults.

“Ascendigo has been a huge part of our lives,” Mark and Linda Waissar, summer camp parents and board members, shared in a press release. “Maia has attended Ascendigo’s summer adventure camp since she was 11 years old. She’s now 24, and every summer, camp remains the highlight of her year. During her very first week, we noticed something amazing: Along with all the fun and physical challenges, her verbal skills blossomed. She came home talking about her counselor, stringing together full sentences, something we hadn’t seen outside of speech therapy.”

Ascendigo is also already expanding programming and opportunities.

“Every dollar (donated) really adds up and counts,” Sinclair said. “The more dollars we raise means the more kids that can attend our adventure camp, which is a very rare opportunity in and of itself. The impact goes really far.”

For more information and to donate to the campaign, visit ascendigo.org/adventure-for-all.