If you’ve spent any time over at Mt. Ellen, you’ve probably seen the signs for Vermont Adaptive. If you’re not familiar, Vermont Adaptive has provided more than 25,000 sports adventures to people with disabilities all over Vermont since its inception in 1987. Misha is the Program Coordinator for Veteran Ventures, which is one of the many programs Vermont Adaptive offers. Veteran Ventures provides free and inclusive sports, recreation, and social activities designed to help veterans experience new sports, improve skills in existing ones, and build a safe, supportive community.
In this episode of This Mountain Makes Us, Misha shares touching stories from his time with Veteran Ventures and explains why the program is so important. Grab a few minutes, press play, and meet one of the people who make this mountain what it is. If you would like to participate or volunteer, you can go to Veterans – Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports to learn more.
“Next thing you know we’re about a half mile deep into the forest and he kind of stops. And he’s like just kind of looking around and he’s like, ‘holy shit, I haven’t been in the forest since 1985’… and it was beautiful. I’m like, let’s just stop and let’s just kind of forest breathe for a while and just take it in. So we just sat there for about 30 minutes not talking to each other, just like taking in all the forest noises, the trees bonkin’ into each other, you know, birds, the rain It was beautiful. That was like, this is why I kind of do what I do.”
Happy Veteran’s Day and to any people who have served our country, thank you for your service.