Lee Canyon announces the sixth annual Chris Ruby Cup, Friday, Jan. 8 through Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. The fun, all-ages and ability levels ski and snowboard banked slalom race is a weekend-long benefit for Nevada Donor Network, a nonprofit that coordinates, recovers, and allocates lifesaving organs and tissues for Nevada transplant patients. Races run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is $20; all proceeds go to Nevada Donor Network. Lee Canyon will cover fees for registered organ donors; people can become a donor at the event. Registration is available at www.leecanyonlv.com.
In light of COVID, this year, people can also participate in the Chris Ruby Cup virtually. Those interested can register to become an organ donor and contribute to Nevada Donor Network at the event page www.NVDonor.org/Ruby. On Sunday, Lee Canyon will host a Facebook Live to announce race winners who will take home prizes like a Lee Canyon 2021/22 All-Access season pass and other ski and snowboard gear. Jeff Ruby, Chris’ father, will also speak. Physical distancing will be enforced in and around the racecourse; racers must adhere to the resort’s COVID protocols. For more information on the resort’s Safe-Lee protocols, please visit www.leecanyonlv.com.
The Chris Ruby Cup is a Play it Forward event, a part of Lee Canyon and POWDR’s Play Forever corporate responsibility commitment. Play it Forward celebrates and enables actions supporting the local community. This year funds raised will support the Nevada Donor Networks’ newly launched End the Wait, a campaign to raise $35 million to build a much-needed transplant institute in Southern Nevada. Currently, patients other than kidney recipients must go out of state for care and transplants, adding strain on the patient and family.
“Chris Ruby showed us the impact of one’s decision to become an organ donor. We designed this year’s event to be safe for participants during this time of COVID, while still honoring what we feel is an important commitment to support Nevada Donor Network,” says Jim Seely, Lee Canyon. In 2014, 20-year-old Chris Ruby, a Las Vegas resident and avid snowboarder passed away. A registered organ donor, Chris’ donated organs and tissues saved more than 90 lives, including a relative. To date, his story and namesake event are responsible for adding more than 5,000 registered organ and tissue donors to Nevada Donor Network. In addition to organ procurement, the nonprofit also facilitates tissue and cornea donations and provides education about donation to hospital staff and community partners.
“On behalf of the entire Nevada Donor Network team, we thank Lee Canyon for their ongoing support of our lifesaving mission. Their efforts to honor donor hero Chris Ruby and his courageous family by hosting the Chris Ruby Cup each year inspires others to make the gift of hope possible by registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor,” said Joe Ferreira, president and CEO of Nevada Donor Network. “Together, we have the power to save those who desperately wait for the lifesaving gift of a transplant. We are humbled by and grateful for strong community partners like Lee Canyon, whose support saves and heals lives.”
About Lee Canyon
Lee Canyon is located approximately one hour from downtown Las Vegas in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Established in 1963, Lee Canyon offers guests 195 acres of terrain, 27 trails accessed via three chairlifts, 250 acres of hike-to terrain, and a lift-served tubing hill. Averaging more than 161 inches of snowfall annually, Lee Canyon offers ski and snowboard coaching, terrain parks, and lodge amenities such as dining and retail, as well as a host of summer activities.
For more information, please visit www.leecanyonlv.com and follow Lee Canyon on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Lee Canyon is part of POWDR, an adventure lifestyle company.
