USA Nordic Women's Ski Jumper and Olympic Hopeful, Abby Ringquist, Sets out to Help Other "Girls On the Rise" Fund Their Dreams

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- World Cup Ski Jumper and member of USA Nordic, Abby Ringquist is paying it forward by teaming up with non-profit 1,000 Dreams Fund ("1DF") to become the face of their new national fundraising campaign, #FundGirlsOntheRise. Abby is the perfect spokeswoman for this campaign, being the ultimate "Girl On the Rise" but also knowing the hardships young women face today in striving for their dreams. Despite being an elite athlete, until recently Abby and her Teammates were self funding their travel and expenses to compete on the World Cup and Olympic level.

This fall, USA Nordic took over operations of the women's Ski Jumping Team and with it committed to funding these athletes so they could focus on being their best. USA Nordic Executive Director, Billy Demong shared "While ecstatic to be funding all of our hopefuls this year at the World Cup we took on a lot of financial risk. It's critical to our mission to support our athletes but we are now focused on ensuring that we can afford to equally and fully fund all of our women and men. That's why I am so excited to be working with Christie Garton and the 1,000 Dreams Fund, to ensure that Abby, and the future flying girls that she inspires, can afford to pursue their dreams in ski jumping."

Like the hundreds of young women 1,000 Dreams Fund has supported with micro-grants, Abby truly knows what it means to have big dreams but little funding to obtain them. Abby, now 28, has competed at the World Cup level since the 2011 season, and missed competing in the last Winter Olympics in Sochi by just one spot, coming in fourth. Despite this devastating setback, Abby got focused and is stronger than ever. Not only is she training around-the-clock, she is working to help supplement the funding from USA Nordic to pursue her sports dream while attending college. With a medal now in sight, Abby is currently competing to qualify for Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

"Abby's experience really speaks to the hurdles so many young women face in funding their dreams. Her story and struggle embodies what many hard-working but disadvantaged young women grapple with," said Christie Garton, founder and CEO of 1,000 Dream Fund. "Each year, thousands of American girls have big sports dreams, but little funding. 1DF and Abby want to change that. Abby's perseverance and commitment to pursuing her dream at all costs makes her the ideal ambassador and spokesperson for this partnership."

"I've worked my whole life toward my dream of competing in the Olympics as a ski jumper!" said Abby. "It has been a real struggle, physically, mentally and financially and I am so excited about the support that 1,000 Dreams and USA Nordic are providing so that I can focus on my preparation for PyeongChang and supporting my teammates for an amazing season."

Today, the 1,000 Dreams Fund is launching the #FundGirlsOntheRise fundraiser which offers up a sweet prize and exclusive experience: 2 VIP passes and all-expense paid trip to the Olympic Team Trials in Park City, UT where they will get to meet Abby and her fellow world class female ski jumpers taking place on December 30 & 31, 2017.

This once-in-a-lifetime experience, provided by USA Nordic, comes at the low cost of just $1. Every dollar donation is a chance to win - and supporters are welcomed to enter multiple times! The 1,000 Dreams Fund will also donate 15% of the total amount raised to USA Nordic to benefit Abby and her female teammates.

The VIP passes to the Olympic Trials will be drawn randomly and announced on December 24, 2017. Additional prizes will be announced over the course of the fundraiser.

Beginning December 5, 2017 through March 1, 2018, people are encouraged to DONATE HERE.

ABOUT THE 1,000 DREAMS FUND
The 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF) is a national scholarship fund for American girls in high school and college. 1DF believes that big expenses should never stand in the way of big dreams. Since its launch in November 2015, over $100,000 in funding has been granted to talented young women in need, helping them pay for the "extras" in school like study abroad, tech devices for the classroom and travel to conferences and seminars. 1DF has been featured in NBCNews.com, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Entrepreneur, TODAY, etc. To learn more about their work, visit http://1000dreamsfund.org/.

USA NORDIC
USA Nordic is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote and develop the Nordic disciplines of Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined in the United States; assist U.S. athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic, World Championship and other international competitions in the disciplines; and to promote the highest standards of sportsmanship, equality, fair play, and good will between individuals of all nations through competition in our sports. For more information, contact [email protected].

SOURCE 1,000 Dreams Fund