April 02, 2018 (Washington, D.C.) – On the heels of the Winter Olympics and a continued push to drive equality in sports funding, the 1,000 Dreams Fund is excited to announce a $4,000 donation to USA Nordic.

1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF), which provides micro-grants to young women in need for academic and career pursuits, teamed up with USA Nordic to help support the Olympic training of U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping team member, Abby Ringquist, and her female teammates for the 2017/2018 ski jumping season. The World Cup skier achieved her lifelong dream of competing in her first Olympic games in PyeongChang in February with financial support from both organizations.

With her inspiring “never give up attitude”, Abby served as ambassador for 1DF as they sought to raise funds for more girls on the rise like Abby. A two-month campaign in the lead up to the Olympics raised nearly $25,000 and 15% went to USA Nordic as part of the partnership.

“We are thrilled that our Fund Girls On the Rise campaign not only raised much-needed monies for Olympians like Abby but also inspired scores of other young women athletes to pursue their dreams,” said 1DF founder and CEO Christie Garton. “We hope to continue provide this type of financial support to other female athletes as the disparity in funding for girls’ sports has been underscored more than ever during this year’s games.”

Both 1DF and USA Nordic provided significant funds to help Ringquist meet the financial demands of training, which average about $30,000 per year. USA Nordic assumed the operations of the Women’s Ski Jumping team last fall and with it, the commitment to help fund the athletes.

“We are proud to have fielded a strong team of athletes in Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined for these Olympic Games,” said USA Nordic Executive, Director, Billy Demong. “It’s so important to lighten the burden of fundraising for our women athletes to let them focus on their personal mission and inspire young women around the country to pursue their dreams.”

The $4,000 raised and donated by 1DF will go toward supporting the current Women’s Ski Jumping team. Both organizations will continue to look for additional ways to grow the partnership in the coming year with the most immediate plans being a fundraiser in April.

“I’m so thankful for the support of organizations like 1,000 Dreams Fund and USA Nordic,” said Abby. “I achieved my Olympic dreams. Now it’s time to help other women achieve theirs. I look forward to working with 1,000 Dreams Fund and USA Nordic to help inspire and fund other young women with big dreams.”