Ski / ride for $20

Guests at Brighton donated a huge pile of new toys to the U.S. Marines in the annual Toys for Tots drive, and then they skied and rode for $20. On Wednesday, Dec. 14 guests can donate a new coat, warm gloves or a package of socks for the Utah Road Home and again ski and ride for $20. The final charity drive is on Wednesday, Dec. 21 when a bag of non perishable foods lets you ski or ride for $20.

Brighton calls the three charity drives Quad Wednesdays. Here's how the name came about. In the early 90s, Brighton installed one of the first four-person chairlifts in Utah. To celebrate the grand opening of the quad lift, it designated a December Wednesday as Quad Wednesday -- and skiers got 4 tickets for the price of 1.

The resort's computers were programed to put out 4 tickets at a time, which meant that guests got 4 tickets. The Mountain Hosts were frantic trying to assemble groups of 4 people to split up the cost and share the 4 tickets. But it was mayhem -- because some people had large bills and some had credit cards only. Quad Wednesday was well intentioned, but it had a rough start.

Quad Wednesdays have now become win-win donation days. Each year, the first three Wednesdays in December are major drives for the three charities. Just remember to bring the right donation!

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