OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. – The Red Dog Chairlift at Palisades Tahoe has carried a number of famous athletes since its 1960 Olympic debut, and thanks to the Palisades Tahoe Community Foundation’s newest scholarship fundraiser, local student athletes are gaining opportunity to take a seat in those very same chairs, and beyond.

“Palisades Tahoe Community Foundation support makes a life-changing difference,” says Laura Denkers, a parent of two scholarship recipients, Wyatt and Riley, who have Cystic fibrosis. “This year brought extra challenges, and without programs like these, our kids’ health, their lungs, their mental well-being, their joy, would look very different.”

The foundation’s Red Dog Chair Campaign raises funds for athletes like Wyatt and Riley by inviting community members to sponsor a chair and choose a meaningful name or phrase—whether that’s a pet name, a family name, or a short message—to be placed on the back of a chair for $2,000.

It’s through campaigns like these that the foundation, a non-profit established in 2013, provides need-based scholarships assisting student athletes with sports costs to compete on Team Palisades Tahoe. That includes helping with expenses for regional, national and even global competitions.

For some students, it is the difference between participating on the mountain or not.

“As a board, we were brainstorming creative ways to raise more money and ways to really connect with the community,” foundation president, Meagan Nichols, says.

Adorning the chair over four winters, the chair sponsorship offers a way for the community to commemorate the mountain, region, or family members.

The campaign is on its way to sending local student athletes to the mountain with 12 chairs already sponsored, raising $24,000.

Donors have made chair sponsorships anniversary gifts and odes to their favorite lift. Another donor placed their grandfather’s nickname in honor of multigenerational skiing at Palisades Tahoe.

“It’s just great to hear people’s stories and how they feel connected to the mountain by doing this,” Nichols says. “Honoring the community members who hold Palisades Tahoe in their hearts while supporting the future generation of leaders is such a special opportunity.”

Organizers picked the Red Dog Chairlift since young foundation ski team athletes ride it frequently and families often take it together.

The chair is named after one of Palisades’ oldest gondolas, the Red Dog Chair Lift. In its time, the lift has carried athletes, including Jonny Mosley, Tamara McKinney, JT Holmes, Marco Sullivan, Bryce Bennett, Travis Ganong, and Julia Mancuso, who are also Team Palisades Tahoe alumni.

In addition to scholarships, the foundation supports athletes on and off the hill through an academic center offering tutoring to winter student athletes at Palisades Tahoe.

“Were trying to build future leaders,” Nichols says, “not just future Olympians.”

Since its establishment, the foundation has awarded over $1 million in scholarships with 90% of the scholarship funds supporting student-athletes locally.

“Everything we do comes back to helping these kids stay on snow, grow as people, and feel supported both athletically and academically,” Nichols says.

For more information or to sponsor a chair, visit ptcommunityfoundation.org.