TAHOE, Calif. and#8212; Beginning Wednesday, Nov. 23, just two days before and#8220;Black Fridayand#8221; and one of the busiest shopping days of the year, thousands of employees working at more than 165 Specialty Sports Venture (SSV) sporting goods stores across Colorado, California, Utah and Nevada will begin asking shoppers to dig into their pockets and purses and make a contribution to their annual Adopt-A-Cause efforts for a local cause or charity.

In Lake Tahoe, two mountain resorts are getting in on the campaign. Employees working at Northstar California retail and rental shops that are part of the SSV collection, have selected the Tahoe Fund this year. Founded last year by local residents, the organization raises money for recreation, conservation and education projects in the Lake Tahoe basin including funding bike trails, public parks, restoration projects, interpretive programs and other amenities.

The employees at all 16 Heavenly Sports locations are raising funds for Tahoe Magic, a local organization that serves families and individuals in the Tahoe community that are in need of temporary financial assistance.

---

---

Shoppers making a purchase will be asked if they want to participate in the effort and to make a contribution at whatever level they can and#8212; no matter how large or small.

The campaign continues through Jan. 8, 2012. In addition to money raised by the individual stores, the Vail Resorts Echo program will match an extra 50 cents for every dollar collected up to $100 donated by individual customers.

---

---

The Adopt-A-Cause campaign is entering its 14th year and is part of a company-wide effort among the sporting goods stores and rental shops that are part of the SSV collection based in Broomfield, Colo. Last year, the program raised more than $172,000, including the matching funds from Vail Resorts Echo program, for 14 different charities in the four participating states including many mountain communities in Colorado and Lake Tahoe as well as urban shops in Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, East Bay and Sacramento.

and#8220;Our employees are passionate about Adopt-A-Cause because it provides a meaningful way for them to help an important cause in the local communities where they live and work,and#8221; said Kat Jobanputra, COO of SSV, the retail division of Vail Resorts. and#8220;Being actively engaged in helping our hometowns has always been one of SSVand#8217;s core values and Adopt-A-Cause allows our local employees to help raise money for local charities and causes they believe in.and#8221;

and#8212; Submitted to aedgett@sierrasun.com