The Tahoe Fund and Friends of Ski Run extend matching campaign to $100,000 for Ski Run Community Park

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Tahoe Fund and Friends of Ski Run announced on Tuesday the extension of their matching campaign for Ski Run Community Park. After meeting the initial $75,000 goal, the two organizations are now working toward a $100,000 match to build a custom bouldering wall in the park.

“We were blown away by the overwhelming support from our donors and community members who gave generously to help bring a new park to the Ski Run neighborhood,” said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “This inspired us to keep doubling donations until we reach our new goal of $100,000 to add a custom boulder wall to the park.”

Ski Run Community Park will be built on an empty 0.57-acre lot that has become an unofficial playfield for the neighborhood. Four families, Wynn and Lauren Ruji, Lincoln and Galena Else, Chris and Viktoria McNamara, and Corey and Marina Rich purchased the lot—which was once home to the Slalom Inn and has sat vacant for over 20 years—with the dream of creating a community park.

The new park will feature an iconic play structure, a plaza and mural wall, and a large community table. With the funds raised through the matching campaign extension, the park will also include a custom bouldering wall for climbers of all levels. The wall will be created by Entre-Prises, a company that designs and installs climbing and bouldering walls throughout North America.

“The Ski Run neighborhood has come together to make this dream a reality,” said Devin Middlebrook, mayor of South Lake Tahoe. “This matching campaign extension will make this park even more fun for the thousands of kids who live here.”

Support for the new park has been provided by Vail Resorts, Friends of Ski Run, Sierra Sustainable Builders, Ben Fish, Novus Select, GearLab, City of South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Fund, M. "Elie" Alyeshmerni & Ski Run Marina, Lisa Maloff, T-Mobile, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Pay It Forward Project, Mountain Luxury Properties, Edgewood Tahoe Resort, El Dorado Community Foundation, Caesars Foundation, American Century Championship, Barton Health, Safeway, Ski Run Center, Sierra Con, and over 50 Tahoe Fund donors.

Local partners including SOS Outreach, Barton Health, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe are also supporting the park by creating historical and environmental education signage, offering bilingual education workshops on exercise, health, and nutrition, and organizing neighborhood clean-ups.

To donate today, visit https://www.tahoefund.org/projects/active-projects/ski-run-community-park/.