After a challenging 2020 is so many way, we will be back this year to provide as many leagues, camps, clinics, tournaments, and community programs as we can for as many kids as possible. We ask you to please support AYU’s vital work by linking your King Soopers and Amazon Smile accounts and by showing your support through our Colorado ONE Team gear from Breakmark.
WHY SUPPORT AYU
We worked hard to provide opportunities for Colorado adults and youth to play and participate in 2020. Taking lots of additional precautions and despite having to cancel numerous events, we were able to safely run camps this summer for almost 200 middle- and high-school age kids, small 4-on-4 tournaments this fall for over 200 adult and youth players, youth club experiences with over 70 players, and one Learn to Play clinic for younger players.
And we take seriously our role as part of the larger national Ultimate community and have continued work we began in earnest in 2019 to seriously invest in racial justice efforts in our community (learn more about recent racial justice projects here and here). We also recently re-wrote our organization’s mission and vision statements to be a guidepost for our efforts to provide programming that are centered on inclusion, diversity, and equity. Programs that we have already implemented are to provide Spanish-speaking and Girls-only camp opportunities, Learn to Play clinics within communities that have historically been underserved, completed board EDI trainings, and launched the CARE (Centering Around Racial Equity) Training Program for coaches to build intercultural relationships that honor and draw from youth’s backgrounds. We have also teamed up with other local organizations to provide fundraising opportunities and community engagement.
We are working to expand the CARE Program, to provide more youth playing opportunities, to pay quality coaches and to provide community EDI training opportunities. These initiatives require funds, staffing, and other resources.
To give an overview, each Youth Playing Opportunity a player’s basic needs include but not limited:
- USAU Memberships
- Tournament or Event Registration Fees
- Personal equipment: Cleats, Jerseys, Discs, Bags, Water Bottles, etc.
- Travel – to practice and tournaments
Each Program/Team needs:
- Team equipment: Cones, Discs, Coaches’ Whiteboards
- Quality Coaches – Paid
- We hope that every program we host has a minimum of two coaches, ideally one with Ultimate experience and one from within the community/from a community partner. We understand that having quality coaches can lead to a positive experience for participants and for this we are looking to provide appropriate compensation for coaches.
As part of our process to return we have found a few simple methods to support our efforts moving forward.
HOW TO SUPPORT AYU:
LINK YOUR KING SOOPERS ACCOUNT TO ALTITUDE YOUTH ULTIMATE.
This program makes fundraising easy by donating to local organizations based on the shopping you do every day. Once you link your Card to AYU, all you have to do is shop at King Soopers and swipe your Shopper’s Card. Here’s how it works, its as simple as 1-2-3:
1. CREATE A DIGITAL ACCOUNT.
A digital account is needed to participate in King Soopers Community Rewards. If you already have a digital account, simply link your Shopper’s Card to your account so that all transactions apply toward the organization you choose.
2. LINK YOUR CARD TO AN ORGANIZATION.
Selecting the organization that you wish to support is as simple as updating the King Soopers Community Rewards selection on your digital account.
- Sign in to your digital account.
- Search for Altitude Youth Ultimate here.
- Enter the name or NPO number of the organization you wish to support.
- Select the appropriate organization from the list and click “Save”.
Your selected organization will also display in the King Soopers Community Rewards section of your account. If you need to review or revisit your organization, you can always do so under your Account details.
3. AYU EARNS!!!
Any transactions moving forward using the Shopper’s Card number associated with your digital account will be applied to the program, at no added cost to you. King Soopers donates annually to participating organizations based on your percentage of spending as it relates to the total spending associated with all participating King Soopers Community Rewards organizations.
LINK YOUR SMILE.AMAZON.COM ACCOUNT TO AYU
STEP 1:
In your internet browser go to smile.amazon.com and log in using your Amazon credentials
STEP 2:
After signing in, you will be directed to the below page
STEP 3:
Under the heading “Or pick your own charitable organization” enter “Altitude Youth Ultimate” then click “Search”
STEP 4:
From the list of charity options, select “Altitude Youth Ultimate”
STEP 5:
You will be redirected to the page below. Check the box next to “Yes” and then click “Start Shopping”
STEP 6:
You will be redirected to Amazon’s homepage that adds a disclaimer about how to add Amazon Smile to your toolbar, should you want to add a particular bookmark for it
That’s it! You are now signed up for Amazon Smile! Just be sure to visit smile.amazon.com every time you normally visit Amazon to make sure your eligible purchases are having a portion of the price donated to the Altitude Youth Ultimate.
PURCHASE COLORADO ONE TEAM GEAR!
In 2020, we started the Colorado Ultimate ONE TEAM fundraising campaign for you to Support Ultimate in Colorado and score some swag!
People loved the design so much, we all agreed to bring this back, offer some additional gear and let people order on a rolling basis. All gear is custom, made to order. It will take about 5 weeks until it is ready to ship to you.
ORDER YOURS NOWSIGN UP TO BE A COACH OR START A TEAM
New to town and looking for a youth team to coach? Startup middle school team looking for a coach? AYU is now offering a tool to help connect teams in need of leadership to coaches in order to help new and established programs grow, and provide resources to get new teams off the ground and help established teams developed.
LET US KNOW YOU’RE INTERESTED IN COACHING OR STARTING A TEAMVOLUNTEER
Volunteers are the lifeblood of non-profits and we are no different. Once we start hosting events we will need plenty of volunteers to deliver top-notch events!
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER WITH AYUUPDATE YOUR USA ULTIMATE MEMBERSHIP
Partnering as the USA Ultimate state-based ultimate organization (SBO), AYU receives a share of all membership dues paid by local members in Colorado. Membership with USA Ultimate includes membership with the state organization. This also gives AYU access to USA Ultimate support and programs like Play it Forward, New Start Equipment Grants, Event Insurance, Community Grants, Learn to Play clinics, waived sanctioning application fees, modified requirements for YCC team approval and acceptance, the opportunity to host major USAU events, and much more.
DONATE FUNDS
Altitude Youth Ultimate is a 501c3 Non-profit. All donations are tax-deductible and go directly to fund our work providing more opportunities for participation for youth at all levels of play.
DONATEAsk your company if they do donation matching or have funds available for awesome programs!
When you donate funds, please include if you would like to donate funds to a specific cause:
- Sponsor a camper!
- Girls Specific ($100)
- Sponsor a player at a clinic or at school
- Girls Specific ($100)
- Sponsor a clinic at a school or in your area ($250)
- Sponsor a team ($500)
You can also donate through Colorado Gives:
DONATE STUFF
We know that throughout your playing career you will accumulate a number of jerseys, discs, cleats, and other gear. Instead of having this equipment pile up or be thrown out, let us get it to players and teams who need this gear. We will always have donation boxes at events or you can email Jimmy to coordinate pickup.