Dear Chill Community, 

I write to you to relay a message of resilience, of unwavering commitment to our mission, and of gratitude for your ongoing support. 

Regardless of one’s specific worldview, it is clear we are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and instability. Resources, institutions, and social norms that we took for granted as immovable fixtures of how we take care of one another are being broken and dismantled at lightning speed. As a result, many young people are experiencing exacerbated hardships right now, and will continue to for the foreseeable future.  

Navigating adolescence has always been complex, but this is a uniquely challenging time to be a young person. The youth we work with at Chill, aged 11–19, are at a pivotal point in their development – deciding who they will become, and what they will contribute to the world as adults. All young people deserve to know that they are respected, loved, and supported by adults in society. Sadly, many of the signals our youth are receiving right now are not positive or confidence-building. In many ways this has always been true, but the volume right now is turned up to maximum. 

Times like these require all of us to return to our own north star, as individuals and as organizations – to reaffirm who we are, what we believe in, and what future we are committed to building for the next generation. It is no accident that the concepts of Belonging and Equity are embedded in Chill’s core statements of Vision and Mission. 

Vision: Chill envisions a world where any young person can belong and thrive in the boardsports community and beyond. 

Mission: Chill inspires young people through boardsports and builds a more equitable community. 

We are proud of our work to create belonging in boardsports and advance equity in the outdoors. Although the words used to express them may change from time to time, these concepts are at the very heart of the founding documents of the United States, and many countries, and will always be worth championing. 

I am happy to report that despite the weight of this moment, the young people Chill serves are still finding joy on the mountain and getting back up from each fall, on and off the board. Our staff and volunteers are all proud to play a small role in their journey right now. 

Thank you for standing by the beautiful, vibrant youth that Chill exists to support, and for continuing to invest in their success. In the not-to-distant future, we will look to this generation to offer steady, compassionate leadership in an increasingly complex world. 

With love and appreciation, 

Ben