Cynthia's Challenge Delivers Van To Faith

On Tuesday, May 30, 2017, representatives from Cynthia's Challenge, including sponsors and supporters, organized a police and fire escort to deliver a handicap accessible van to Faith Holt and her family at a Crescent Lake School assembly in Wolfeboro, NH.

Cynthia's Challenge, a 24-hour Ski-A-Thon that took place this past winter Friday, March 17 through Saturday, March 18 raised over $50,000 with more than 250 skiers and snowboarders from near and afar participating in the 24-hour fundraising event.

In its fourth year, Cynthia's Challenge has now raised over $180,000 to fulfill the needs of children including a service dog for Cynthia Verrill and handicap accessible vans for Sammy Gillard, Kevin Dall and now one for Faith Holt, age 11, from Sanbornville, NH.

Faith is the daughter of Doug Holt, an Air Force Veteran who served in Desert Storm, and sister to older brothers, Sean (19), Devin (16) and Cody (12). Faith’s mother, Stephanie Holt, passed away when Faith was six-years-old. Faith was born pre-maturely and spent her first one hundred days in a neonatal intensive care unit. The combination of skeletal dysplasia, seizure disorder and Crane-Heise Syndrome require Faith to often wear a soft-shelled helmet because she does not have a cranial cap. Due to multiple surgeries and her daily seizures, she uses a wheelchair for her mobility.

Faith is completely dependent on others to bring her to the places that she needs to go, school, doctors’ appointments, social events and her family was in need of the reliable, wheelchair accessible vehicle that was delivered.

4th Annual Cynthia’s Challenge at King Pine Raises Over $50,000 

East Madison, NH (March 20, 2017)  - Cynthia's Challenge, a 24-hour Ski-A-Thon that took place Friday, March 17 through Saturday, March 18 raised over $50,000 and is still accepting donations. Over 250 skiers and snowboarders from near and afar registered and participated in the 24-hour event.  Registration was $99 per person and included dinner, breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks throughout the event, a 24-hour lift ticket, a custom t-shirt and memories that will last a lifetime. Atlas Fireworks and Bank of New Hampshire provided a spectacular fireworks show Friday night and key support was provided by Vertical Challenge and Bolt Depot with crews playing music and providing entertainment throughout the event.

In its fourth year, Cynthia's Challenge has now raised over $180,000 to fulfill the needs of children including a service dog for Cynthia Verrill and handicap accessible vans for Sammy Gillard, Kevin Dall and now one to be purchased for Faith Holt, age 11, from Sanbornville, NH. Faith is the daughter of Doug Holt, an Air Force Veteran who served in Desert Storm, and sister to older brothers, Sean (19), Devin (16) and Cody (12). Faith’s mother, Stephanie Holt, passed away when Faith was six-years-old. Faith was born pre-maturely and spent her first one hundred days in a neonatal intensive care unit. The combination of skeletal dysplasia, seizure disorder and Crane-Heise Syndrome require Faith to wear a soft-shelled helmet because she does not have a cranial cap. Due to multiple surgeries and her daily seizures, she uses a wheelchair for her mobility. Faith is completely dependent on others to bring her to the places that she needs to go, school, doctors’ appointments, social events and her family was in need of a reliable, wheelchair accessible vehicle.

"It’s an incredible show of support by the local community, but also from all here at King Pine including ski patrol, lift operators and the many employees who volunteer their time to see the event through the night," stated Bob Hoyt, co-owner and President of Purity Spring Resort. "We feel fortunate to be able to make this large contribution to Faith and for the Holt family to have a reliable, wheelchair accessible van.”

Saturday's lunch sponsored by the Yankee Smokehouse and Thrivent Financial provided grilled items served under sunny blue skies and nourishment for participants to finish the 24-hour challenge. In addition to lunch, The Yankee Smokehouse donated $1,000 raised by their successful pizza fundraiser hosted the Wednesday prior to the event. Flatbread Pizza provided pizzas for Friday night’s dinner and Leavitt’s Bakery along with Big Dave’s Bagels provided breakfast carbs to keep going Saturday morning.

Cynthia's Challenge would like to recognize the following businesses for their support: Atlas Fireworks, Bank of New Hampshire, Bolt Depot, Flatbread Pizza, Hobbs Restaurant and Tavern, Mad Cow Screen Print, Ride-Away, Shendao Acupuncture, SnoCountry, Thrivent Financial, Varsity Beverage, Vertical Challenge and Yankee Smokehouse.

A special thanks to everyone that donated raffle prizes, silent auction prizes and food to make this event possible including: Big Dave's Bagels, Blue Bay Seafood and Steak, Bobby Sue’s Ice Cream, Boston Duck Tours, Boyle’s Family Market, Bradley’s Hardware, Cindy’s Place, Conway Scenic Railroad, Cormack Construction, Cranmore Mountain, Donna Cormier Massage Therapy, Eastern Mountain Sports, Eastern Slope Inn/Attitash Mountain Village, Fryeburg Veterinary Hospital, River’s Edge Tavern, Jackson Hole Ski Resort, Jake’s Seafood, J.P. Goodwin, Leavitt's Bakery, Monkey Trunks, New Deal General Store, North Country Animal Hospital, Pat’s Peak Ski Area, Poor People’s Pub, Portsmouth Chowder, R & R Woodworkers, Ski Works, Shaw’s, Ski NH, Ski Works, Somersworth Nissan, Story Land, Valley Originals, White Mountain Hotel and Resort and Windy Field Farms.

Tax deductible donations are still being accepted to help Cynthia’s Challenge reach the original $65,000 goal. Online donations are welcome at cynthiaschallenge.org and checks made out to Cynthia’s Challenge are also being accepted. For more information, please call King Pine or Purity Spring Resort at (603) 367-8896 or email info@purityspring.com.

Cynthia's Challenge Announces Non-Profit Approval

East Madison, N.H. (February 27, 2017) — Cynthia’s Challenge has recently been approved by the State of New Hampshire and the Internal Revenue Service as an official non-profit 501(c)(3). Cynthia’s Challenge was created in an effort to help ease the financial burden of children and their families encountering the staggering expenses associated with special medical needs. Cynthia’s Challenge is supported by King Pine Ski Area by hosting a 24 hour ski-a-thon with the support of local business and the community.

This year’s 24-Hour Ski-A-Thon will be held at King Pine Ski Area in East Madison, New Hampshire March 17-18, 2017. All funds raised with this year’s event will benefit Sanbornville, New Hampshire’s Faith Holt, an 11-year-old girl living with skeletal dysplasia, seizure disorder and Crane-Heise Syndrome. This year’s goal is $65,000 to purchase Faith’s family a wheelchair accessible van.

Now in its fourth year, Cynthia’s Challenge has raised over $131,000 to benefit children and their families. Starting in 2014, Cynthia Verrill was the first benefactor and resulted in her name being used to name the event. $35,000 raised for Cynthia was used to provide a seizure detecting service dog. The second year, the event raised over $35,000 for Samantha Gillard who was in need of a wheel chair accessible van. The third year raised $61,000 for Kevin Dall to purchase a wheel chair accessible van.

For those that would like to contribute to this year’s Cynthia’s Challenge, online donations are welcome at https://www.cynthiaschallenge.org/. For more information, please call Purity Spring Resort at (603) 367-8896 or email marketing@purityspring.com.

About Cynthia’s Challenge

Cynthia’s Challenge is a registered 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization in the State of New Hampshire. Cynthia’s Challenge was created in an effort to support children and their families encountering the staggering expenses associated with the financial burden of specialty medical needs. The funds raised from the twenty-four hour ‘ski-a-thon’ will be used to provide financial and logistical support to families confronted with profound medical needs of disabled and/or handicapped children.  Each year, Cynthia’s Challenge members will receive and review each Cynthia’s Challenge application and determine the future beneficiary(s) based on the applicant and their families hardships and needs.  Qualified recipients shall be afflicted by a physical, mental, or developmental disability that substantially impairs the performance of one or more daily life activities combined with a financial hardship and inability to afford medical products, treatment or assistance.  Once the beneficiary has been chosen, a fundraising goal is set to provide for specific needs (i.e., service dog, handicap accessible van).

About King Pine Ski Area

King Pine Ski Area, located in Madison, New Hampshire, is part of Purity Spring Resort and has a rich tradition of delivering outdoor fun and family recreation. Conveniently located between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Purity Spring Resort has been owned and operated by the Hoyt family since the late 1800s and today offers a variety of year-round family destinations, including Tohkomeupog – Camp for Boys , The Lodges Retreat Center at Tohkomeupog, Traditions Restaurant, The Mill Indoor Pool & Fitness Center, Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort, The Bluffs RV Resort (exclusively for adults), Purity Spring Resort and King Pine Ski Area.