On Friday evening during Ski for Light Norway Night at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Valerie Anders surprised the audience with a gift of $25,000 to help create a Ski for Light Endowment Fund. "I made this gift to honor the leadership and vision of Bud Keith", she commented. Bud is the only person that has attended all 24 Ski for Light events. Bud served the organization as president for nine of those years. Valerie said that Bud was the first blind person she had ever guided, and she has guided him on ski trails, hiking paths, and through museum corridors viewing Munch exhibits. "I never realized the responsibility one takes when guiding a blind person until I met Bud and was introduced to Ski for Light. It has been a wonderful experience."
Mrs. Anders, who divides her homes between Deer Harbor in the San Juan Islands of Washington and San Diego, has been a friend of the SFL family since 1977. She hosted Olav Pedersen and Bud in her home in Oslo. Her husband, former astronaut William Anders, was then the U.S. Ambassador to Norway and their home was, of course, something special. The official residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Oslo was the home of one of the Nobel brothers. It contained 99 rooms and was probably the largest private home ever built in Oslo. Only 20 or so rooms were in use at the time Olav and Bud stayed there (so it wasn't as grand of a mobility challenge for a blind person as it could have been!).
Valerie and Bill Anders became avid cross-country skiers while in Norway and have skied amidst thousands of highly competitive Norwegians in the largest cross-country ski races. Several years after they moved back to the U.S., the Anders visited SFL when it was held in Saratoga Springs. Despite a week that produced heavy rain followed by a very deep freeze, both the Anders tried their hands at guiding blind skiers on race day over a one kilometer trackless trail of crushed ice.
Last spring, Valerie became aware of SFL's intention to build an endowment fund to offset the ever-growing cost of the annual International Week. She expressed her desire to help and this February flew to Alaska to make her generous presentation. Her love of skiing and her continuing fondness for the Norwegian culture are combined in Ski for Light. Additionally, her youngest daughter, who was a small girl when Olav and Bud visited her home, is now married to a Norwegian and lives in Oslo.
The SFL family is extremely appreciative of Valerie Anders' gift. We hope it will inspire others to add to this new endowment fund, which now totals around $84,500. Life memberships, as well as designated gifts, go into this fund. If you or someone you know believes in our work and would like to ensure its continuation, please contact Laura Oftedahl, Endowment Chair by phone (617) 923-7768 or e-mail: Laura@sfl.org.