Let's stay Well at Home, together!

Deep in the fine print of the SFL Vice President's job description, under a few very discrete and doable-sounding tasks, you'll find this bullet item: "Other duties as assigned." In other words, "Just wait!"

I've been Vice President before, briefly, so I knew the deal-but I never thought those "other duties" would include "Manage positive messaging and maintain SFL community morale during a global pandemic." And yet, here I am. Here we all are: Together, apart. How's everybody doing, seriously? Are you staying safe, healthy, and upbeat in these isolating times? Are you getting what you need? I know we've got a lot of SFLers who might be feeling especially vulnerable to this terrible virus, and many others who are suddenly out of work-but I can't imagine any of us are sailing through the COVID-19 crisis unaffected, physically, financially, mentally, emotionally. In so many ways, for so many reasons, this is hard. But then: we're Ski for Light. We can do what's hard, joyfully, for as long as it takes. And none of us has to do it alone. I have a few ideas for how we can support each other, in what's typically an off-season for our organization:

• SFL Well at Home video/audio series. If you follow us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/skiforlight/videos you might already have seen a few examples of short clips (some goofier than others) in which some of your Ski for Light friends reveal how they're staying fit while hunkering down. We're adding these resources to our website as well, under a new navigation tab on the homepage, "SFL Well at Home," www.sfl.org/well. Submissions welcome! Send clips to me, via email JYCoppens@gmail.com or text (907-796-9031), or DM to the Ski for Light Facebook page.
• SFL on Twitter: We're back! During our Casper event we asked how many of you use Twitter, and guess what --lots of hands went up! We're going to bring our long-dormant feed back to life, and do our best to tweet you some good stuff on a regular basis. Be sure to follow us https://twitter.com/skiforlight if you haven't already; this might be a way for those who choose not to Facebook (we get it) to stay connected, since we'll be cross-posting a lot of content on both platforms. For fitness-specific items, we'll use the hashtag #sflwellathome. Help us make it a thing!
• Direct help. SFLers are nothing if not resourceful. Are you struggling, either with practical things like essential errands, or with deeper issues like keeping anxiety and depression at bay? Are you bored, or just under-employed, and looking for a way to help others in our community? Do you have skills that might be particularly useful at this time--for instance, are you a trained therapist who would welcome a phone call from one of your SFL friends needing to talk? Are you a financially secure person who could maybe treat someone else to a home-delivered meal in their town? I'm volunteering myself to be a point person: Drop me an email to JYCoppens@gmail.com, or call/text me at 907-796-9031, and I'll try to match willing helpers with the needs I'm hearing, while respecting confidentiality. Please don't hesitate to ask for a hand up. I'll say it again: We're Ski for Light. This is how we roll.
• And finally: Remember the joy. We have so much to celebrate as a community, so much fun to remember, and so much more to look forward to, when these hard times are over.

The 2019 SFL Annual Report, coming soon to a mailbox near you, is now available as a pdf on our website at www.sfl.org/annual; you might enjoy revisiting past issues as well--so many wonderful stories, images, and uplifting messages in those pages.

I'm already gathering material for the 2020 edition. With (sadly) no Ridderrenn coverage, as that great event couldn't happen this year, I'll have room for more of your stories, and I know Andrea will be happy to receive your Casper event recollections and other writings as well. Please take some time to remember and share what Ski for Light means to you, perhaps especially in this strange and difficult post-season.

That's all for now from the Vice President's desk, which--hey, where did all these potato chip crumbs and wine stains come from?! Yes, we're all needing to cut ourselves some slack these days, starting with our pants. Good thing Ski for Light has always been a no-judgment zone. I can't wait to be back there with you all, skiing, learning, and loving life, together. Until then, be well.