Ski, Text, Donate - Support Boulder Athletes

In advance of its statewide Winter Games at Copper Mountain March 29-30, Special Olympics Colorado (SOCO) announced its unique partnership with Copper and Denver-based Mobile Accord to make it easy for skiers, riders and YOU to donate via text messaging through the month. Support your local athletes participating in the Winter Games. Twelve athletes from the Boulder area are heading to this year's Winter Games. The Games represent the culmination of the winter sports season for more than 400 Colorado athletes across the state and include alpine skiing, alpine snowboarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

SOCO has taken a leadership role in the move to incorporate mobile technology into the world of philanthropy by being the first Colorado-based charity to embrace this technology with a text-to-donate campaign. The campaign asks cell phone users to make a $5 donation to SOCO by texting FAN to 90999. Skiers and riders have an opportunity to instantly react to SOCO campaign signage throughout Copper to send and confirm donations by simply sending a text message. The donation is charged to the donor’s regular monthly cell phone bill and is separated from other transactions and identified as a non-taxable donation.

“Mobile technology is the new avenue for fundraising,” said Mindy Watrous, SOCO’s president and CEO. “This campaign removes barriers such as providing credit card information or pulling out a pen and checkbook. Cell phone users, including skiers and boarders, can give when they are moved to donate.”

SOCO’s new campaign is made possible by the Denver-based cause marketing agency Mobile Accord, Inc. and their product mGive.com. mGive is the premier provider of mobile technology to the nonprofit sector and is supported by AT&T, Cincinnati Bell, Verizon Wireless, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile and US Cellular, representing the vast majority of US mobile users. Although SOCO’s marketing presence at Copper will end in March, SOCO’s text to donate campaign will be an ongoing effort.

“Copper’s generosity has been amazing,” Watrous said. “They have given Special Olympics Colorado reign of the mountain to promote this text donation campaign. It is these types of partnerships that allow our organization the opportunity to provide our athletes with life-changing experiences.”

This season will be Copper’s 21st consecutive year hosting SOCO’s Winter Games.“We are so proud to be a part of such a special and worthy cause such as Special Olympics,” said Pete Woods, director of marketing at Copper. “The Winter Games are a staff favorite here. We not only provide logistical support, but we also host a breakfast party for the athletes and their families. It’s truly a rewarding partnership.”

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About Special Olympics Colorado - Since 1969, Special Olympics Colorado (SOCO) has been strengthening families, athletes and the very soul of our community through sports training and athletic competitions. Special Olympics Colorado provides year-round training and sponsors over 80 competitions at the regional and state level in 20 sports for more than 10,000 athletes statewide. With a base of more than 6,000 volunteers, hundreds of hours are donated allowing SOCO to support athletes of all ages and abilities, allowing them to build athletic, learning and social skills. Participation with other athletes, non-disabled peers (Unified Sports® partners), coaches, sponsors and volunteers builds confidence and creates opportunities to participate as productive and respected members of society by increasing public awareness of the athletes' capabilities. There is no cost to participate in Special Olympics. For more information, visit www.specialolympicsco.org.

About Copper - Copper Mountain is a full inclusive resort with three distinct villages (The East Village, The Village at Copper and Union Creek) that are ideally suited for different personalities, all within easy walking distance of the slopes and activities. Copper has more than 20 mountain establishments located in the East Village and The Village at Copper for coffee, fine dining, quick bites and grill options. For après, Copper offers a wide variety of bars including JJ’s Rocky Mountain Tavern and the Storm King Lounge. For those guests preferring other recreational pursuits, Copper offers snow tubing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, scenic sleigh rides, snowmobiling, an athletic club and ice skating. For up-to-date lift ticket rates, weather, daily photos, surface conditions and more, visit www.coppercolorado.com. Late last year, Copper introduced Woodward at Copper, a first-of-its-kind year round training facility dedicated to skiing and snowboarding. More information is available at www.woodwardatcopper.com.

About Mobile Accord - Denver-based Mobile Accord, Inc. provides turnkey tools for organizations to leverage the power of mobile technology using SMS (text messaging), PSMS (premium SMS), and mobile content (ringtones, wallpapers, etc.). Mobile Accord can easily make any part of an organization’s existing outreach efforts mobile – for example, distributing urgent action alerts, volunteer opportunities, or donation via text message.