Volunteer Profile – Courtney and Nick Mimmo

Courtney and Nick Mimmo both started with Ignite this fall and we chatted about their experience with Ignite for a little while a few days ago.

Courtney, was recruited at the Farmers Market when shopping with my visiting mother. After hearing that the program helped kids and adults on the Autism Spectrum, my mother said I should really go and check it out (my nephew is on the spectrum). Nick and I love skiing together, and Nick is an awesome coach/mentor, so this seemed like a great way for the two of us to spend time together and learn more about adaptive skiing.

After the first introductory meeting at the JCC, we got a really great vibe from the people (both organizers & volunteers) and the program was unlike anything we had ever learned about.

In the offseason we like to hike and enjoy the outdoors with our dog Baxter. We also enjoy exploring as much of Colorado as possible since this is just our second year living out here. There’s such an amazing high that you get after volunteering on the mountain. Nick and I feel so lucky to get to experience that. Our skiing has improved immensely and Nick got his PSIA certification, which wasn’t even a thought before joining Ignite.

Nick’s favorite place on the mountain is Bryan’s Glades and then the trailer happy hours after a great day of volunteering. Courtney loves listening to live music in Timbers Lodge after an enjoyable day on the slopes

Before my first lesson, says Nick, I was pretty nervous, but we had a VI student who had the most contagious positive attitude. I learned more than I ever could have imagined in that one day. It set a great tone for the rest of the season.
Courtney- I spent a Saturday morning with a CD/DD student who was 21 and had a busier social schedule than I did at 21. She was so fun to talk to and ski with. I learned a lot from her in the three hour morning session. It was one of the best days I had all season, and I don’t mean with Ignite, just ski-season in general.

Volunteering with Ignite has helped us a lot with our nephew. We love him and have always been close with him, but we feel so much more confident now building a relationship with him, then we did before volunteering with Ignite. So much that we’ve learned from the experience can be applied to our day-to-day lives.