The Chill Foundation, founded 25 years ago by Donna Carpenter and her late husband Jake Burton Carpenter, owners of Burton Snowboards, has set up a European office in Europe. The new Chill Europe is based in Zurich, where Donna Carpenter, joint chief executive of Burton, moved in 2019 to get more involved in the company’s European operations, which she had originally started.
The foundation has served more than 25,000 young people until now. It is dedicated to inspiring young people between the ages of 10 and 18 through boardsports and to help them to reach their full potential, realizing alternatives beyond their current struggles. It currently offers programs in 24 cities in ten countries around the world. It has been running small, informal programs in European countries for 13 years.
With a dedicated European chapter, Chill is committed to increasing its support of European youth, enhancing existing programs throughout the continent and developing new ones. They will be modeled after Chill’s successful North American approach, which embodies the latest Positive Youth Development best practices to build resiliency through targeted lessons and challenging physical activities. While navigating the restrictions and constraints presented by Covid-19, Chill Europe will run pilot programs in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland over the next twelve months. Existing programs in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy will be reviewed and relaunched.
Chill Europe’s goal is to run at least one boardsport (snow, skate, surf, SUP) program in every European city where the organization has achieved non-profit incorporation by the end of 2021. The incorporation of additional Chill Europe locations is under consideration.
