Poker Chips for Charity

When the pandemic began, local Flathead Valley resident and entrepreneur Victoria Livschitz started regularly watching poker matches to pass the time, which eventually reignited an old hobby that she never took too seriously. But quarantine strengthened her dedication to the game, and she won $30,000 at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this fall.

Instead of pocketing her winnings, Livschitz donated all of it to the Glacier Institute and Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (FVSEF), splitting the funds evenly between the two organizations.

“There is a tradition in the poker community where there’s actually a lot of philanthropy,” Livschitz said over the phone from Las Vegas. “There are poker professionals that make their living but poker also attracts people who play it for fun and not financial gain and donate money to charity.”

Through her business, RightOnTrek, an outdoor trip planning technology company, Livschitz’s connections to outdoor organizations led her to donate to these nonprofits.

“I was familiar with the Glacier Institute’s fundraising and work through my company and we donated food and equipment for some of their summer campaigns,” Livschitz said. “It’s a fantastic organization.”

The Glacier Institute will use funds for its youth education program and toward the Restoration Big Creek Capital Campaign to renovate a historic ranger station.

Livschitz also became familiar with FVSEF, a nonprofit alpine skiing and ski racing program at Whitefish Mountain Resort, through her business and she felt inspired to help young athletes after learning about the program’s mission.

“I learned how they operate and the scholarship they provide for aspiring athletes and it’s really important to remove barriers for talented kids and to enable access to skiing,” Livschitz said. “There are so many kids who aspire to do well and be the best versions of themselves and that just really resonated with me.”

Separate from Livschitz’s poker winnings, she also donates 1% of the company’s revenue to a global charitable organization that helps preserve wilderness and promotes responsibility in the outdoors.

While RightOnTrek is designed to make outdoor trips easier, making custom itineraries covering recreation permits, gear lists and AI-created meal plans with compostable packaging, Livschitz emphasizes educating users about sustainability and reducing the environmental impact.

RightOnTrek will soon have a partnership with Leave No Trace, an educational program dedicated to helping people recreate responsibly. Recreationists who use RightOnTrek will also get a card with Leave No Trace’s principles and Livschitz is currently brainstorming ways to incorporate bear safety within the products.

After growing up in Lithuania, Livschitz moved to Cleveland to finish school in the 1990s, eventually making her way to Silicon Valley working in the technology industry. She moved to the Flathead Valley in 2020 to relocate her business near Glacier National Park after launching it in 2018.

“I love Montana and I love the Flathead,” Livschitz said. “It’s been an incredible year and we’ve had tremendous progress with the company.”

Livschitz was surprised to find a talented labor pool to choose from upon moving to the Flathead and she easily built a leadership team and she’s continuing to grow the manufacturing and technology aspects of the company.

“The most important part is we meet personally and colleagues are very community-sensed and want to work together with organizations that make a difference,” Livschitz said.