NEXT UP:

SOLO exercise session

CANCELED!! — Monday, Dec. 15, 2025: Prospective students and volunteers should come to this exercise session where we’ll get our bodies moving for the season. It will be at 6 p.m. in the gym at Hannah & Friends, 51250 Hollyhock Road, South Bend. We’ll have pizza, too!

on-slope training for downhill volunteers

Monday, Dec. 22 or Monday, Dec. 29, 2025: If Swiss Valley is open, we will conduct an on-slope training session for all new and returning volunteers, which will introduce you adaptive training tools and techniques, and allow volunteers to practice using them. Meet at Swiss from 7-9 pm. If Swiss isn’t open on 12/22, we’ll do it 12/29.

Nordic skiing begins

Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026: First session for the cross-country skiing and snowshoeing program will run from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Rum Village Nature Center, 2626 S. Gertrude St., South Bend. No snow? We hike instead.

alpine skiing begins

Monday, Jan. 5, 2026: First session of downhill skiing program at Swiss Valley. The bus departs promptly at 6 p.m. from Memorial's Lighthouse Center, 6901 Main St. in Granger, Indiana. Or meet us at Swiss Valley rental building at 7 p.m. We leave Swiss at 9 p.m.

SOLO provides outdoor winter educational and recreational opportunities for persons with disabilities from St. Joseph County, Ind., and nearby counties in an effort to:

• Encourage independence and increase participation in family and community leisure opportunities

• Educate the community regarding the capabilities of and opportunities for persons with disabilities

Skiing offers a freedom of movement that most persons with disabilities have never experienced. At the same time, it creates an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and unsurpassed confidence. A person who has difficulty walking will find themselves gliding smoothly down the hill with a newfound poise and agility.

We welcome both adults and children at least 8 years of age to join us. SOLO is open to students with physical, visual, auditory, or significant mental impairments.