The National Ski Patrol is a Federally chartered (like the Red Cross) charitable organization made up of local ski patrols which provide rescue, emergency care and safety services to skiers. The US is one of the few countries where first aid and rescue services are provided free to skiers. The NSP provides educational programs to train the 25,000 volunteer and professional patrollers in all aspects of their work and also provides programs the local patrols can use to educate the public in skiing and wilderness safety. The vast majority of ski patrollers are volunteers who pay dues for the privilege of belonging to this organization and serving the skiing public. The NSP does not do a lot of fundraising, but would use any contributions received to further improve their award- winning educational programs and provide improved services to their members. They may be contacted at www.nsp.org.