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After decades of providing the “experience of a lifetime” to their guests, Vail Resorts is turning that mission back to their employees. The company announced its new EpicPromise Foundation this week, an offshoot of Vail Resorts’ charity engagement program, EpicPromise. While EpicPromise brings financial ($7.4 million a year) and volunteer (20,000 hours a year) support to nonprofit organizations throughout the resorts’ communities, the EpicPromise Foundation will turn its focus even closer to home by assisting Vail Resorts employees.
The foundation plans to give $750,000 in grants to Vail Resorts employees each year—starting with a first round to be awarded in February. An annual contribution of $500,000 from the company will form the base of the grant money, supplemented by donations from resort employees and guests and a $1.5 million contribution from the company’s CEO, Rob Katz.
Vail Resorts employees can apply for the grants for medical need or emergency assistance or to further the education of themselves or their family members.
Along with the foundation, the hospitality company also announced this week that it will provide $30 million over the next few years to develop employee housing in the mountain towns where their resorts can be found. In tourism-driven towns like Breckenridge, Keystone, and Vail’s other resort spots in Colorado and beyond, resort employees often comprise a large portion of the community’s full-time population—and existing housing does not always fit the employees’ financial needs. With these two new initiatives, Vail Resorts hopes to serve their employees and in turn, their communities, like never before.
“In this holiday season,” Katz said in an EpicPromise Foundation press release, “we are creating a way for everyone at Vail Resorts to both give back and be supported. There is always more to do to create the experience of a lifetime for our employees, but this is a great adddition to what it means to be a part of Vail Resorts.”
Guests at Vail Resorts’ properties will soon be able to donate directly to the foundation, and you can rest assured your money will be in responsible hands. The foundation’s board will be comprised entirely of non-executive Vail Resorts employees.