Help Katryna Kofton Get An Adaptive Monoski Rig!
Hello, friends! For those of you who don’t know me, I am an adaptive sports athlete living with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as well as spina bifida. Recently, I was awarded a $5,000 grant from The GoHawkeye Foundation toward the adaptive monoski rig of my dreams made by DynAccess!!! I’ve been trying to get rig funding for 4 years now, and this grant money covers more than half the cost quoted to me for my custom made DynAccess Hydra Mono Ski, which I had the pleasure of demoing a model of in the featured picture. Excited to share the good news, I called up DynAccess to discuss the next steps. The grant money has already been applied to my account, and the balance remaining is $3,600. I was told that they have all the parts needed to complete my rig for me this season, and it could be delivered to me as soon as Stowe Mono Ski Day 2023 on January 22nd if the funding is ready by Christmas (which also requires $400 in travel expenses). I’m incredibly thankful for all the connections and friends I’ve made in the adaptive community, and I can’t wait to join you all soon hopefully on my new mono ski!
Trying to get this adaptive ski rig has been a relentless uphill battle. I’ve run into so many dead ends, and I’m beyond frustrated that I’ve had so few funding opportunities due to the nature of my rare disabilities. While I was extremely lucky to have received a donated Turtle Ridge Foundation ski rig to learn on, I’ve taken it as far as I can after 3.5 years. I have beaten and bruised it, and it’s certainly also beaten and bruised me with a couple trees here and there. Replacement parts are getting harder to find, and the rig is more and more difficult to use with time. After needing a pit crew on the side of the trail with you to put your screws back in mid-run, you know it’s time to move on.
Would you consider donating $50 to help me start this great new journey?
My long term adaptive ski goal has always been to be able to give back to the community and teach skiing, go to more events, and raise awareness for rare illnesses that have a lack of adequate funding/resources. Accessing appropriately fitted ski equipment for myself is the first step in me being able to give back to my community. But I can’t do it without you—I need a little help from my friends. If 80 people can donate $50, my goal would be met, with enough extra to cover travel expenses to drive to Vermont and retrieve my new ski rig. Each share you are able to provide brings more exposure as well, which helps get me closer to the goal!
Your donation will allow me the opportunity to go to more adaptive sporting events, ski more comfortably, hone my teaching skills, and give back to the community we know and love. On top of the DynAccess Hydra Mono Ski itself, the fundraised money will allow me the ability to start turning my dreams of my own nonprofit organization, dubbed The Misfits Foundation, into a reality. I want to make the lives of others easier, so they don’t have to struggle and fight for funding and resources as hard as I have had to fight. This fundraiser is just the start of something big and wonderful. Please donate if you are able, follow @themisfitsfoundation on IG or The Misfits Foundation on FB to keep in touch, and share this with your friends!
With Warmest Regards,
Katryna Kofton