DeSo Foundation

Newsletters Event Calendar Photo Gallery

News & Events

Happy 2014! The DeSo Foundation is already off to a great start this year with continued expansion of its support of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). In 2013, we made a commitment to give to WMI (Wilderness Medicine Institute) Scholarships. These scholarships will help students take WEMT (Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician) Semesters, as well as WFR (Wilderness First Responder) courses. We have already helped helped 15 students take various WMI courses at the school's headquarters in Lander, WY.

The DeSo Foundation also committed to maintaining its support of students participating on NOLS Semester in Patagonia and Instructor Courses. To date, nearly 50 students have benefitted from scholarships known as "DeSo's Dream!"

On February 5, 2014, we celebrated Justin's birthday with the 17th Annual Ski for DeSo in Steamboat Springs, CO. This special day is all about getting outside and enjoying yourself...and Remembering & Celebrating Justin's life and legacy. To that end, each year on "Ski for DeSo Day," The DeSo Foundation makes a contribution to a local Steamboat charity in order to help the community in Justin's honor. Over the years, The DeSo Foundation has found expression for its goals in Steamboat by providing funding for the Justin Andrew DeSorrento Sports Medicine Center at the Yampa Valley Medical Center; by supporting the Yampa Valley Community Foundation for many years; and more recently, toward the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (and its Foundation) and STARS (Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports).

__________________________________________________________________

The DeSo Foundation is excited to be starting off the 2013 with two new scholarships! We will be supporting the new Kent Denver Global Studies program by offering scholarships to KDS students who plan to study abroad with the school.

In addition, the Foundation will be providing its support to the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute with scholarships directed toward the Wilderness EMT program on the new Wyss Campus in Lander, WY.

We are very excited about continuing to grow our already successful scholarship program with these new additions.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2013!

Below are a few highlights from the past several years:

Ski for DeSo

The DeSo Foundation continues to remember Justin on his birthday each year. February 5th has come to be known as “Ski for DeSo” Day.

Over the past several years, The DeSo Foundation has made donations in honor of Ski for DeSo to the Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS) program. In 2010, the Foundation provided its support to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC), where many of the 20+ Olympians from Steamboat who went to Vancouver for the Winter Olympic games received their training.

In 2011, the Foundation also supported the Yampa Valley Community Foundation with funds directed toward the Howelsen Hill Centennial Campaign. This campaign is a joint public and private effort to upgrade the facilities at Howelesn Hill in Steamboat Springs, CO. Howelsen Hill is a world class training facility for competitive athletes and future Olympians.

Boulder Junior Cycling

Boulder Junior Cycling (BJC) would like to thank the DeSo Foundation for its support in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Funding from the DeSo Foundation has allowed BJC to expand the U15 Mountain Bike Team and also create a new Cyclocross Team for youth, ages 12-15, adding a total of 25 new riders in 2009. These funds also help provide financial assistance to those in need, in order to make the sport of cycling available to all youth.

BJC provides coaching and training for young athletes to compete successfully in the discipline of Cycling. Boulder Junior Cycling is a program of the Boulder Valley Cycling Alliance (BVCA), a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization. BVCA was established in 2005 to promote all aspects of junior cycling and to create life-long cyclists in Boulder Valley. Visit the BJC webpage at: www.BoulderJuniorCyling.org

Quotes
"Thanks to BJC, I’m hooked on Mountain Biking! I really love to ride and BJC has taught me how to race and make it fun."
13 year old junior rider

"Our family really appreciates the financial assistance provided to our son from BJC. Without it, we would not have had the ability to get him involved in the sport of cycling, and he enjoys it so much. He rides to and from school all the time and is so happy on his bike"
Mom of a junior rider

NOLS

deso dream For each year since 1998, The DeSo Foundation has continued to support scholarships for students on NOLS Semesters in Patagonia, as well as students on Instructor’s Courses on an annual basis. In addition, the Foundation is pleased to announce that in October 2007, Jim, Karen and Suraya traveled to NOLS International Headquarters in Lander, Wyoming for the formal dedication of “DeSo Commons,” a student lounge in the Noble Hotel where NOLS students and instructors can relax before and after their courses.

Jalapeno Inferno Benefit

In 2008 and 2009, Jalapeno Inferno Restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ hosted a Cinco de Mayo fundraiser, naming The DeSo Foundation as the beneficiary. The event was fun, well attended and helped raise money for the programs supported by the Foundation.