When four-time Paralympic alpine skier Danelle Umstead talks about the power of sport, she speaks from her lived experience in finding community through isolation and hardship.

“Skiing gave me purpose and independence when I was losing my sight,” said Umstead, who is visually impaired and competed with her husband as her guide across four Paralympic Games. “It gave me community when I felt isolated, and it taught me that sometimes the biggest barriers aren’t the ones on the mountain. They’re the ones in our minds and in society.”

This need for community became the spark for the Sisters in Sports Foundation, which Umstead launched in 2020 to ensure that women and girls with disabilities have a place to belong, thrive and lead.

For Umstead, skiing represented a space she could turn to when she felt isolated by vision loss. Now, she is giving a platform to a generation of girls with disabilities, aiming to help them find that same sense of belonging and grow into leaders who will lift others in turn.

“We hope that this is a movement. If we start now, by the time 2034 comes, we can really rally the Paralympic side of things and show what we’ve accomplished together here as a community and as Sisters in Sports,” said Umstead.

On Saturday, the foundation is hosting Bella Notte, a fundraising gala named in the spirit of the 2026 Milano Cortina Games at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. The evening brings together Olympians, Paralympians and community members for a celebration of sport and resilience, raising funds to sustain and expand Sisters in Sports’ impact.

With a fundraising goal of $250,000, the event will feature a silent auction, appearances from Olympians including Picabo Street, Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe alongside Sisters in Sports athletes.

Olympian Shannon Bahrke will host the evening, and Bella Notte will give the community a chance to meet the young women whose futures the foundation is helping to shape.

“This is more than just a fundraiser,” said Umstead. “It’s about rallying together as a community and showing these women and girls that they belong.”

Sisters in Sports was born from the gaps Umstead felt in her own support system as an athlete.

“I knew there was something that really needed to change for women in sports, and that is community. Having a community is really important. That’s what sports are all about, right? It teaches you to collaborate and encourage and empower each other, and it wasn’t there for women,” said Umstead.

When Umstead founded Sisters in Sports, she built it around two priorities: mental wellness and storytelling. Through the foundation’s programs, athletes gain access to psychologists and wellness specialists offering one-on-one sessions, group workshops and curriculum designed to strengthen mental health long before an athlete reaches the elite level.

“I thought that was really lacking in sports,” Umstead said. “The only way you’d get that mental health support was if you made the national team. That leaves out quite a bit of people who are trying to either get involved in sport or who live with a disability and want to excel in life. It was really important to me to have a healthy mind just as much as a healthy body.”

Athletes also work with coaches to learn how to tell their stories in a way that feels true to their experience, and prepares them to advocate confidently with coaches, sponsors and employers.

“We want to help women tell their story in their own authentic way, so they could really hold themselves as a strong disabled woman. And that was really, really important to me,” said Umstead.

Despite launching during the coronavirus pandemic, Sisters in Sports has now supported more than 50 athletes, funding training, travel and equipment while also fostering a culture of mentorship.

Paralympians, including co-founders Oksana Masters and Kendall Gretsch, lead roundtables on topics from nutrition and social media branding to resilience and leadership. The round tables are about offering advice and connection, but also a way to meet and find community among other women with disabilities, regardless of level or discipline.

Umstead explained that while she often found herself informally mentoring teammates during her career, what was missing in women’s sports, especially for athletes with disabilities, was a structured, lasting community to lean on. Through roundtables and the foundation’s Big SIS program, where experienced athletes step in as mentors to newer members, Sisters in Sports is working to create a lasting outlet for community and belonging.

“Once you’re a part of sisters in sports, it’s something you stay with forever. We continue to rally for you and your needs and help you in wherever your path is going,” said Umstead. “Once a sister, always a sister. We really want them to know they have a community that they can rely on, and we hope they’ll bring up the next generation of sisters too.”

Guests at Saturday night’s Bella Notte will be able to bid in the public silent auction featuring experiences and items, including local wine tastings, resort stays and U.S. Ski Team merch.

The silent auction also offers a rare piece of alpine history, featuring Mikaela Shiffrin’s autographed custom helmet from her 2022-23 World Cup season. Shiffrin surpassed Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time World Cup victories record while wearing the helmet, earning the title of the greatest skier of all time.

The gala will also feature an Olympic-style pin trading, where each guest receives a lanyard and collectible pins to swap throughout the reception. Inspired by traditions from the Games, the activity is designed to spark connections among attendees while nodding toward both Milano Cortina 2026 and the 2034 Games in Utah.

Umstead envisions Sisters in Sports becoming a household name by the Winter Olympics, when the Paralympic Games come to town. The foundation recently strengthened its leadership with new board members Beth Armstrong, Gil Mandelzis and Steve Scruton, joining an existing board that includes Susan Cattozzo and Jeannie Goldstein.

“By the time 2034 comes around, I would love for Sisters in Sports to be a staple — for it to be a name that everybody knows. And for the movement of the Paralympics, maybe to know that we were a part of it, even if it’s a small part, we all have to give to make it better in our communities and for our athletes.”

Bella Notte begins at 6:30 p.m. with the VIP reception, followed by the general reception at 7:30 p.m. and dinner at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets start at $250 with sponsorship opportunities also available starting at $2,500. Visit tinyurl.com/4j89ypce for details.