World Cup Women's Ski Jumper and 1,000 Dreams Fund Ambassador, Abby Ringquist, lands spot on Coveted U.S. Olympic Team

Non-profit fund supports young females to overcome gender gap in sports funding

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Jan 31, 2018, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Utah ski jumper Abby Ringquist, has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team and will compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, February 9-25, thanks in part to The 1,000 Dreams Fund.

Abby Ringquist, a member of the U.S. Women's Ski Jumping team, joins Team USA in the Winter Games thanks to support from The 1,000 Dreams Fund. Photo Credit: Ben Pieper Photography

"I couldn't have done it without the support of the 1,000 Dreams Fund," said Ringquist, 28. The non-profit provides micro-grants to young women in need. Since its launch in late 2015, 1,000 Dreams Fund has given more than $100,000 to more than 100 young women to help fund the "hidden costs" of their career and education goals, such as conference fees, unpaid internships and training.

Ringquist's life-long dream of becoming a U.S. Olympian is supported in part by a grant from the 1,000 Dreams Fund. Training for world-class competition costs upwards of $30,000 a year. Recognizing the challenges and gender inequity many young women face in sports funding, Ringquist recently became a spokeswoman for 1DF's #FundGirlsOnTheRise," a fund-raising campaign that runs through April 1.

The campaign is part of 1DF's effort to fund more "girls on the rise" like Abby, talented young women who need an important financial boost to help reach their goals. Individuals and corporations can help more Abby's when they donate through April 1.

"Abby represents the very best of young women in America today who are fighting every day to reach their dreams despite significant financial obstacles," said 1DF's CEO and Founder, Christie Garton. "While progress has been made for women in the workplace, women athletes are still under-funded and young women, in particular, struggle to make a career in sports. Our organization is committed to help inspiring women like Abby succeed."

Ringquist is a native of Park City, UT, where she currently lives and trains at the U.S. Olympics Ski & Snowboard Association's Center of Excellence. She has been competing since she was 15-years-old, and was a member of the U.S. World Cup ski jumping team in 2011, 2013, and 2015. She suffered a devastating set back in 2014 when she missed qualifying for the Winter Olympics in Sochi by just one spot.

But this soon-to-be Olympian never gave up on her dream and said the financial support from the 1,000 Dreams Fund "truly helped make my dream come true."

"Female athletes just don't get the same financial support that the men do," said Ringquist. "We're still working towards a higher level of equality not just in ski jumping but also in many other sports."

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, and others.

To learn more about its work, visit http://1000dreamsfund.org/.

SOURCE 1,000 Dreams Fund