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CHC Foundation

Grant Stories

CHC Foundation has poured over 22.5 million dollars into the community since its inception. Read about a few of our most recent grants here. 

Salmon Ice Rink Upgrades Uplift Small Community

"A kid on ice is a kid out of hot water." 

This is the motto of the Salmon Hockey Association, an volunteer-based nonprofit located in Salmon, Idaho that maintains a free outdoor hockey rink and a busy youth hockey program. 

The Association, which has been around for nearly forty years, maintains a professional affiliation under USA Hockey and makes hockey accessible to youth and adults from all socioeconomic circumstances.

Over 100 kids were enrolled in last year's program, with practices being led by volunteer coaches 2-4 times/week. An additional 175 kids accessed the rink through school programs. The program hosts 8 tournaments and 160 games during the hockey season. The revenue brought into this small, rural community by hockey tourists is significant. 

When it's not being used for games and practices, the rink is also available for residents of Lemhi County to use at no cost, and it's not uncommon to see 10-20 people from the community using the ice during the winter.  

The rink had been originally built using a sand base enclosed by plywood panels, topped with chain-link fencing. It was an energy inefficient set-up that that required many hours of volunteer labor to properly maintain and a significant amount of money to maintain. Additionally, all of the components of this base were worn out. 

The Salmon Hockey Association sought a grant from CHC Foundation to help pay for the costs associated with upgrading the rink to one with a new insulated concrete surface. This upgrade would not only cut energy usage in half and sharply reduce the labor needed to maintain the rink, it would also make it possible for the community host additional tournaments - AND make the rink usable during the summer for roller-skaters. 

CHC Foundation was delighted to donate a portion of the funds needed to make this upgrade possible.