‘There needs to be somebody that looks like me’: Pittsburgh nonprofit creates recreation opportunities for people of color

Jaiya Hughes loves everything about winter.

When temperatures drop, Hughes, 10, cannot wait to don her snow coat and boots and hit the hills of her East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh, sled in hand. Her mother, Tazi Hughes, always joins in on the action.

But when Jaiya sees fellow sled riders with ski tags hanging from their coats, Tazi has to let her daughter down gently.

“I don’t know how to ski, so for me to bring her … it just seemed too far-fetched,” said Tazi, 50.

That all changed in January. Jaiya joined a group of 45 children and young adults participating in a program by the Outdoor Inclusion Coalition — a Pittsburgh-­based nonprofit that creates free year-round recreation opportunities for Black and Latino people in Pittsburgh.

Established as a nonprofit in 2023, the coalition offers a skiing and snowboarding program for those 25 and younger to ski free of charge for seven weeks at Hidden Valley and Seven Springs resorts in Somerset County.

Founder Marcus Shoffner and his twin brother, Derrick, were introduced to camping, hiking, mountaineering, skiing and snowboarding by their grandfather. They rarely saw other people of color joining in on the action, Shoffner said.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, about 88% of the people who participated in snow sports at ski resorts across the country in 2022-23 were white. Only 7% were Black or Latino.

“I already knew that statistic just anecdotally based off my experience, but seeing that made it very clear and profound that something needs to change,” said Shoffner, 30, of Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.

Jaiya had a similar realization.

Each skiing and snowboarding session, staff members from the resorts would talk to the group about their jobs in the snow sports industry. None of them were people of color, Tazi said.

“(Jaiya) said, ‘Mom, there needs to be somebody that looks like me,’ ” Tazi said. “For her to be 10 and say that, I was blown away.

“Some people could say, ‘It’s not for me because there’s nobody that looks like me that works here, so maybe I just can’t do that,’ but she was like, ‘I want to work here, and I want to see somebody that’s brown like me or Black like me (working) here, too.’ ”

Shoffner doesn’t intend to ignore barriers to participating in recreational activities.

“We’re very aware that socioeconomic status goes well beyond racial identity,” he said. “That’s something that, obviously, we’d like to change. But if I had to start somewhere, I would like to start with individuals that have historically been underrepresented ever since the beginning of time within these activities.”

Expanding horizons

The coalition’s programs also include camping in Perry North’s Riverview Park and rock climbing at Iron City Boulders in Lawrenceville, Ascend’s South Side and Point Breeze locations, and Frank Curto Park in Polish Hill.

The nonprofit covers all costs associated with each activity — gear, instructors, food and transportation. It is supported by grants from the National Recreation Foundation, Tom’s of Maine, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Public Lands and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Since the skiing and snowboarding program launched in 2023, Rashaa Brown’s five children have all taken their turn on the slopes.

Brown’s children would not be able to experience snow sports if it weren’t for the coalition.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Brown, 47, of Point Breeze. “I wouldn’t be able to pay for the equipment and all the expenses that come with it.”

Though Brown’s 8-year-old daughter, Ajani, prefers skiing, snowboarding was a hit for daughters Asata, 17, and Layla, 10, and sons Damani, 22, and Sekou, 20.

Even though braving the cold does not always sound appealing, Brown encourages her kids to take advantage of the opportunity.

“There’s a lot to get out of it in terms of building their confidence and feeling like they can do hard things,” Brown said.

Vail Resorts — owner of Hidden Valley, Seven Springs and Laurel Mountain in Ligonier Township — supports the coalition through its Epic for Everyone Youth Access program. It helps the coalition cover costs of lift tickets, rentals and lessons, said Brett Cook, general manager of the three Laurel Highlands resorts.

“This is one of our core values — being inclusive,” Cook said. “We want to reach out to as many organizations as we can and offer the experience of a lifetime — of being in the mountains, on the snow — to underrepresented youths.”

Where it began

Shoffner has been developing the coalition since 2018, shortly after he moved to Pittsburgh from his hometown of Asheville, N.C. He and his team have worked directly with Pittsburgh officials to pass legislation that allows them to camp at select city parks.

Pittsburgh appealed to Shoffner. It was an untapped recreational marketplace.

“When I moved here, I would interact with underrepresented communities and say … ‘Where do you mountain bike at? Where do you ski and snowboard at?’ And it wasn’t a matter of, ‘We don’t do this.’ It was a matter of, ‘You shouldn’t do it over there because we don’t have access to it,’ or, ‘You don’t see many people doing this in that community.’

“To me, I would say I grew up in a space like that, but I didn’t take well to that,” he said with a laugh.

The value of spending time outside cannot be replaced, Shoffner said.

“I considered the outdoors as a place to challenge myself personally but also knew that it was just a space that if I was able to get there that I would feel whole, important and valued,” he said. “Even if no one was there, I just feel like the environment naturally cares for people.”

Looking to the future

As the skiing and snowboarding program nears the end of its season, Shoffner already is planning for next year. He would like to draw about 15 more people to the program and launch a winter camping event in 2025.

But growth of the coalition is not just about numbers, Shoffner said. It’s about inviting people outside.

“Connection to the outdoors is such a beautiful experience that it sometimes requires people sticking out a hand and saying, ‘Come outside with me,’ or people providing a space for you to explore — the external world and even your internal world. ‘Who do I want to be?’

“I found that outside,” Shoffner added, “and I never would have been able to say that if it wasn’t for my grandfather and for the experiences that he cultivated and provided for me.”