Vail Resorts Announces its First Group of Epic Volunteers for Employee Paid Time Off Volunteer Program

Today Vail Resorts announced the first Vail Resorts Epic Volunteer employee winners.  The Epic Volunteer Program provides employees the chance to have a more enriching, in-depth Experience of a Lifetime, and to continue their commitment to Do Good in the resort communities or around the world by awarding them with paid time off for volunteer projects.
Through an in-depth application and company review process, 17 Vail Resorts employees have been selected as the first class to participate in the program where they will be volunteering with a charity or project of their choice either in one of the communities where Vail Resorts operates, across the country or internationally. These 17 employees, both seasonal and year round, will be giving 680 hours of time to non-profits that work with kids locally and internationally in countries like Nepal, help the environment, raise money for military veterans, restore New Jersey beaches destroyed by Hurricane Sandy and help companies learn about sustainability programs.
“We were overwhelmed by the thoughtful applications for the first round of Epic Volunteers and we are thrilled to provide these select employees the opportunity to participate in an epic, life-changing experience through paid time off for longer volunteer projects,” said Mark Gasta, Vail Resorts executive vice president and chief human resource officer. “Through the selected projects we know these employees will make a lasting impact with the non-profit groups and those they serve. Each Epic Volunteer will inspire all Vail Resorts employees around the company to continue to grow this program and promote our company’s Do Good value in the communities we serve and around the world.” 
“I thrilled to be an Epic Volunteer. I am helping local elementary school children experience,  learn and identify Lake Tahoe’s native trees and plants through the Junior Botanist program which is part of the South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition as well as other agencies,” said Leslie Amato, Heavenly Resort. “I love to teach and share environmental education with the children and make a difference in their lives and I am honored to participate in the program.”
Below are the selected Vail Resorts Epic Volunteers by resort and the charity of their choice: 
Vail/Beaver Creek Resorts
Stephanie Darrohn, Beaver Creek Resort, Round Up River Ranch
Jeff O’Brien, Vail Mountain The Cloudbase Foundation
Marco Valenti, Vail Mountain, The Pat Tilman Foundation
 
Keystone/Breckenridge Resorts
David Breingan, Keystone Resort, CASA of the Continental Divide,
Meredith Farnum, Keystone Resort, Family and Intercultural Resource Center, Keystone Resort
Melissa Manix, Breckenridge Resort, Jersey Cares
Susie Nothnagel, Breckenridge Resort Humane Society of Boulder Valley
Rodney Summo, Breckenridge Resort, The Human Impacts Institute
Vail Resorts Corporate Office Employees, Broomfield, Colo.
Mila Birnbaum, Living Roots
Monica Gill, Friends of the Dillon Ranger District
Andrea King, National Beep Ball Foundation
Anne Robinson, Sierra Club
Shannon Schroeder, Boulder County Parks & Open Space
Savanna Whitcher, Sanchez Elementary
Lake Tahoe Employees (Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood Resorts)
Leslie Amato, Heavenly Resort, South Lake Tahoe Education Coalition
Denise Duffy, Northstar Resort, Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe
Roslyn Wang, Northstar Resort, Disabled Sports USA
 
Epic Volunteers is an extension of Vail Resorts Echo, the company’s corporate stewardship program. Each year, Vail Resorts Echo donates more than $6 million to non-profits throughout the communities in which the company operates, as well as more than 9600 hours of volunteer time, with a focus on supporting youth and the environment.
For more information about Vail Resorts Epic Volunteers or Vail Resorts Echo, visit www.vailresortsecho.com.