Are you ready for Colorado Gives Day?
Here are the local nonprofits seeking financial support
Editor’s note: The Vail Daily is running profiles of local nonprofits that are participating in Eagle County Gives Day, in tandem with Colorado Gives Day, on Dec. 8. Colorado Gives Day is an annual statewide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving. Donate online at http://www.eaglecogives.org or schedule your donation in advance.
Access Unbound
By enabling access to high quality professional instruction, Access Unbound’s mission is to transform and heal the lives of people with disabilities, or disabling conditions, who qualify for our partners’ adaptive programs.
Meeting basic human needs of persons with disabilities begins with those individuals being recognized as full members of our community who, like others, come with their own strengths and challenges. Engaging in mountain sports and feeling as if they belong to the broader community of winter sports enthusiasts speaks to the heart of being connected and feeling whole.
Although a completely separate entity, Access Unbound works with the Vail and Beaver Creek Adaptive Programs. We team with these programs because of the quality of instruction offered through a professionally staffed program — an approach quite unlike the more common volunteer-based programs.
One mom reported: “[As a single mother,] I am struggling to make ends meet. This program changes lives, and please know how very grateful we are for your services and generosity.”
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Another parent wrote: “Thank you for helping us to see possibility in an impossible world of autism, to unleash the potential from a child locked in his own world, and to gain faith and strength from the special talent and amazing progress Luke showed us through skiing.”
Access Unbound is the only local organization that supports a diverse range of people with disabilities, regardless of age disability type and background. Your donation can help more kids and adults discover the thrill of snowsports, no matter their disability.
For more information: Visit accessunbound.org, email info@accessunbound.org or call 970-446-6597.
Bravo! Vail Music Festival
Bravo! Vail Music Festival is committed to serving the community through the power of music, and 2020 brought unique opportunities for fulfilling this mission. Working within local health and safety guidelines, Bravo! Vail incorporated new technology, creativity, and ingenuity to bring a re-imagined Festival to the community.
The Bravo! Vail Music Box, a custom-designed mobile performance stage, brought 41 small, outdoor concerts to parks, driveways, and yards from East Vail to Gypsum. Through July and August, more than 1,000 people safely experienced the joy of music. The Music Box will provide occasions for the community to enjoy music into next summer and beyond.
Bravo! Vail presented seven chamber concerts with a small group of resident musicians performing live at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater for limited, masked, socially-distanced audiences. Live streaming of these concerts with viewers in 50 states and 28 countries made the music widely available in a new way that will continue in coming years.
The 226 students in the after-school piano and violin program adapted to lessons on Zoom and capped off the school year with eight virtual recitals for nearly 700 people. Little Listeners at the Library moved to the living room with interactive, online education performances by resident musicians, engaging music lovers of all ages.
Bravo! Vail looks forward with hope to 2021. Whenever and however it is safe to do so, Bravo! Vail is committed to bringing music to the Vail Valley. Invest in innovation, inspiration, and the power of music. Donate today at Bravovail.org/give
Bright Future Foundation
A years-long effort to create a permanent shelter for victims of domestic abuse in Eagle County came to fruition with the official groundbreaking of the BrightHouse in late August. The BrightHouse will provide greater capacity for families, featuring six efficiency apartments for families fleeing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking.
The facility will serve as temporary emergency housing, while Bright Future Foundation staff advocates work with survivors to secure permanent housing and assist families on their path to self-sufficiency. The BrightHouse will be pet-friendly and include a children’s playground and garden, along with counseling and staff offices.
The $3.5-million capital campaign began in the summer of 2017, with a $1-million lead gift by BFF board member Doe Browning. Other major donors quickly followed including Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, El Pomar Foundation, Gates Family Foundation, Eagle County Government and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Thanks to our community’s generosity, the campaign is nearing completion.
Bright Future Foundation has been making futures bright for families affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse for 36 years. As Eagle County’s only community-based victim service agency, Bright Future Foundation strives to break the generational cycle of violence and create a pathway to safety and security through the provision of compassionate and confidential programs. Services include a 24/7 crisis hotline, emergency shelter, housing stabilization services, trauma-informed counseling, legal services, mentoring and youth violence prevention.
For more information: Visit http://www.mybrightfuture.org or contact Sheri Mintz, CEO, at 970-763-7203.
Can Do Multiple Sclerosis
Can Do Multiple Sclerosis delivers health and wellness education programs to help families with MS thrive. We envision a world in which we can strengthen every family living with MS.
Can Do MS honors the legacy and beliefs of the organization’s founder, Olympic medalist Jimmie Heuga, and pioneer in the MS care management field. We continue to embrace his positive can-do philosophy and perspective, which complements the traditional medical model and standard of care. Since 1984, we’ve been at the forefront of promoting the culture and belief that everyone living with MS has the power to live full lives.
CASA of the Continental Divide
CASA of the Continental Divide is a nonprofit that serves local children in Colorado’s 5th Judicial District, which encompasses Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, and Summit Counties.
CASACD recruits, trains, supervises, and mentors community volunteers to advocate for the best interests of victims of child abuse, neglect, and severe domestic conflict in court. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to be a voice for these children in court and in the community.
Each assigned volunteer advocate conducts independent investigations, is in direct contact with the child, and gets to know the child so they can represent the child’s best interests. In this way the child has a voice in the court, someone on their side during a difficult time that can drastically affect their well-being, safety, and future. The desired result is that children be placed in safe, loving homes where they can thrive.
CASA of the Continental Divide is a proud member of both the Colorado CASA and National CASA Association
For more information: Visit mtncasa.org learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer advocate.
Catholic Charities of the Western Slope
When the outbreak of COVID-19 hit our community, Catholic Charities responded quickly to assist those suddenly out of work to maintain their housing. Throughout 2020 emergency assistance has been a focus as families continue to struggle, yet Catholic Charities provides a wide variety of other services.
For 25 years, Catholic Charities has worked to empower individuals and families to attain sustainability through compassionate services focused on meeting the complete needs of everyone they serve. Catholic Charities programs in Eagle County include:
Emergency assistance: providing financial aid to help prevent homelessness, stabilizes families in crisis, prevent utility shut off, and more. So far in 2020, we have helped over 2,000 individuals.
Wage theft: In the last three years, they have helped clients recover more than $165,000 in unpaid wages.
Fair housing: We help mediate landlord-tenant disputes and advocating for access to safe and fair housing practices.
Interpretation and translation: This includes training and administering a volunteer interpreter program for emergency services, which has increased the reporting of crime by Spanish-speaking victims.
Victim’s services: Helping victims of crime access and understand the various systems available to them.
Life skills coaching: This includes in-depth budgeting classes and more.
Community integration outreach: This includes internationally recognized Law Enforcement Immigrant Advisory Collaboratives, emergency preparedness, in-depth community needs assessments, and working with community partners to ensure their programs meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations.
For more information: Call 970-949-0405.
Colorado Mountain College
Since the onset of the pandemic, Colorado Mountain College has responded to our community’s needs in numerous ways. This spring, we rebuilt our curriculum to offer online classes, and launched a “Back to Business” program that provided free training to our local businesses.
During the summer semester, we announced free tuition for locals, supporting nearly 1,500 credit hours of learning in three short months. And this fall, we created a “Back to Work” scholarship program for those who have lost employment due to COVID-19.
CMC has 12 campuses with bachelor’s degrees in nursing, business, education, sustainability, leadership and management — and even more in the pipeline. We also offer 54 associate degrees and 77 certificate programs, all designed to provide a real-world education for a real-world job.
Because of people like you, the CMC Foundation is able to fund new scholarships, help expand academic programs and build state-of-the-art facilities, enabling students to learn new skills, develop untapped talents and prepare for their careers. Despite challenging times, the foundation awarded $1.26 million in scholarships to 577 students for the 2020-2021 academic year, in addition to providing access to new technology tools, supporting free tutoring services and expanding our student emergency funds.
When you support the CMC Foundation, your generosity changes the life of every student who dares to do something major. That generosity provides quality educational experiences and unique opportunities for our students, ultimately elevating the economic, social, cultural, and environmental vitality of our beautiful Rocky Mountain communities.
The Community Market
The Community Market is an expanding project of the Eagle Valley Community Foundation.
Since 2017, we’ve been committed to ending food insecurity through the lens of our three guiding principles: Healthy People, Strong Communities, and Environmental Sustainability. We work towards building a resilient community while providing a dignified customer experience at our food bank by removing the stigma surrounding food insecurity, preventing food waste through our Grocery Rescue Program and composting, and environmental stewardship with our Actively Green Business Certification.
Deemed an “essential business” during the pandemic, we never closed our doors.
We were able to pivot by providing hearty non-perishable food boxes and have now returned to our normal “choice food shopping” experience. COVID-19 has greatly affected our service-based economy and has delivered devastation to the hardworking families whom we serve —approximately 3,700 people per week. In May, the second market location opened in Edwards to serve struggling up-valley communities in addition to our Gypsum location and Mobile Markets.
To schedule a one-time or recurring donation, please go to http://www.coloradogives.org/eaglevalleycommunityfoundation. Every $1 donated equals $9.60 worth of food to TCM customers.
Do you want to fight food insecurity?
Volunteering is easy and we can’t do this important work without you! Whether you’re new to volunteering or need a new volunteer gig — sign up for available shifts at http://www.feedeaglecountynow.org or call our volunteer line at 970-445-4976 to help in-person or with special remote projects.
Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance
The Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance is a local, all-volunteer, nonprofit organization working to preserve and protect the three fabulous Wilderness areas that lie within Eagle and Summit Counties: Eagles Nest, Holy Cross, and Ptarmigan Peak. ESWA is the only local nonprofit that works on the ground to help the U.S. Forest Service do so. Our work includes:
- ESWA Volunteer Wilderness Rangers patrol local Wilderness areas to help the Forest Service educate trail users about Leave No Trace principles and Wilderness ethics.
- ESWA hosts volunteer trail work projects in coordination with the Forest Service to clear trails of fallen trees, clean up illegal campsites and fire pits, and construct trail improvements.
- ESWA WeedSpotters locate noxious weeds and help the Forest Service control them.
- ESWA backcountry campsite volunteers camp at more popular backcountry lakes to encourage wilderness-friendly practices.
- ESWA’s trailhead host program assists and helps educate hikers before they hit the trail.
- Our Advocacy efforts help protect our local Wilderness areas, and the wildlife that call them home, from a wide variety of threats.
ESWA has no paid staff and relies on the generosity of members and the community to fund our work.100% of donations go directly to support our “boots-on-the-ground” programs. Donors of $250 or more receive a box of 12 gift cards featuring photos of our local Wilderness areas. If you enjoy our Wilderness areas, help protect them.
For more information: Visit us at http://eaglesummitwilderness.org/.
Eagle County Historical Society
When the pandemic shut down the Eagle County Historical Society’s museum this summer, local history became a take-out program. The ECHS developed traveling exhibits for public places. Blogs detailing the lives of early pioneers were researched, written, and posted on the ECHS website. History stories on a variety of topics, including the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic in Eagle County, were published in local newspapers.
History moved outside with informative hikes on the Horn Ranch, in Red Cliff, Yeoman Park, Sweetwater, and Brush Creek. Homebound locals asked dozens of local history questions via emails and phone calls. ECHS volunteers researched and provided answers.
The virus-induced downtime was also used to make major capital improvements on the museum in Eagle. The new roof, structural improvements, fresh paint and improved exhibits are ready to go for the next museum season.
History connects people with their roots and creates a sense of belonging to a community. People need history in order to understand the world around them and in turn develop plans for the future.
In addition to operating the museum, the ECHS partners with the Eagle Valley Library District in maintain physical archives at the Eagle Library and online archives available anywhere.
The public can access thousands of photos and documents via either the ECHS website, eaglecountyhistoricalsociety.com, or the library district website, evld.org.
The ECHS is a small-scale non-profit with a large-scale dedication to preserving local history since 1972. Honoring the past is the key to creating a better future. Community support is always welcome.
Education Foundation of Eagle County – E•ƒ(ec)
Teachers are our most valuable classroom resource. Decades of research has proven that quality educators are the greatest factor influencing student success. By focusing support on the needs of students and teachers during the school day, EFEC ensures that equitable opportunities exist for all of our youth to grow and thrive.
Students spend more than 1,000 hours each school year in a classroom. Highly qualified teachers and low student-teacher ratios make that time effective and impactful. Through core programs including the Apple Award recognizing amazing teachers each month, Distinguished Teacher Scholarship Awards continuing education financial assistance for teacher professional development, and Classroom Equity Grants, E•ƒ(ec) strives to bridge the gap between what is expected of our teachers and students, and the inadequate state resources available to support them.
The Education Foundation of Eagle County is dedicated to education and the intellectual and emotional growth of students especially focusing on equitable access to enrichment, mental health support, and efforts to recognize and retain top teacher talent.
When you contribute to our mission, you are supporting fair access to enrichment in science, technology, engineering, the arts, music and math. You are helping fulfill a promise to identify and back an equitable approach to student mental health with prevention and resiliency programs during the school day. Our students and teachers need us now more than ever.
For more information: Visit efec.org.
Eagle River Watershed Council
The Eagle River is the heartbeat of our community. Wildlife, our economy and our health depend on the river. It provides a place to recreate, relax and hit the reset button — incredibly important in this time of COVID-induced stress. It’s more critical than ever to protect our watershed. But drought, climate change and overuse threaten its ability to thrive.
Eagle River Watershed Council restores, educates, monitors and advocates for our rivers, streams and riparian ecosystems.
We coordinate projects to address impacted areas, improving the health of our waterways and ecosystems. Whether it’s planting trees and shrubs, spreading seed or teaching kids how to identify invasive plants, our projects benefit the river.
We work with all ages to cultivate appreciation for and knowledge about our watershed. Our programs, from the annual bilingual Community Float to our signature Watershed Wednesday series, impacted 500+ members of our community in 2020.
We collect more than 5,000 points of water quality data every year and assess it to identify threats early so problems can be addressed before they get out control.
Land development can impact streams, and we review proposals and provide recommendations to reduce impacts and protect sensitive areas.
If our rivers, clean water, fish and wildlife are important to you, please consider supporting us through a donation on Colorado Gives Day, or via our website,
For more information: Visit http://www.erwc.org.
Eagle Valley Land Trust
Eagle Valley Land Trust protects forever the lands we love, to preserve our heritage, scenic beauty, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitats, and to build a permanent legacy for future generations.
Conservation is more important now than ever. 2020 has been a strong reminder of the power of nature and its importance to our community. Eagle Valley Land Trust is working hard to protect these open spaces and natural places that we all depend upon.
Natural areas are increasingly essential to our health and emotional well-being. Equitable access to nature, fresh air, and open space and the many benefits they provide are critical for our community and tourism driven economy.
Currently, EVLT protects over 11,200 acres across 36 properties and continues to protect trails, wildlife habitat, and open spaces near local neighborhoods. EVLT doesn’t only conserve the outdoor places we love, it also provides free educational programs, hikes, and opportunities for community members of all generations to explore and enjoy the benefits of nature.
EVLT is proud to offer new Community Conservation partnerships such as the ‘Serie de Conexión’ with Eagle Valley Outdoor Movement, a family focused hike in Spanish for members of our Latinx community; and a mental health-focused series with Colorado Mountain Medical.
Despite the challenges facing our world, EVLT continues to connect our community to nature, enhance our outdoor recreation opportunities, protect our important wildlife habitat, and preserve our lands for future generations to come, forever.
For more information: Call 970-748-7654 or visit evlt.org.
Foresight Ski Guides
Foresight Ski Guides is an Eagle County-based nonprofit organization committed to offering challenging, goal-oriented, recreation-based experiences for blind and visually impaired individuals. It is proven that challenge recreation, like skiing and snowboarding, fosters excellence, independence, confidence, personal growth, and leadership for youth and adults who are blind and visually impaired.
Foresight also strives to shatter attitudinal barriers, myths, and stereotypes about blindness through the highly visible presence of the ski and snowboard program at Vail and Beaver Creek. Since 2001, Foresight has helped the blind and visually impaired community gain affordable access to snow sports.
A study of Foresight found that its program promotes the following key skills for blind and visually impaired people: self-determination, social skills, orientation, mobility, sports/recreation/leisure skills, and sensory efficiency skills. These are skills our visually impaired participants, or VIPs as we like to call them, learn from the program then use their entire lives.
Foresight Ski Guides serves Colorado youth and adults from around the country who have different degrees of vision loss but are all declared legally blind. They may come for a day or they may come for a full week. However long they are with Foresight, the outcome is usually the same— each returns home knowing they’ve dissolved their own personal limits and transformed their lives therefore improving their quality of life.
For more information: Visit http://www.foresightskiguides.org or call 303-506-3859.
Girl Scouts
At Girl Scouts of Colorado, we believe every girl has an important role to play. Together, we are able to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Investing in Girl Scouts is an investment in tomorrow’s Eagle County leaders.
When you support Girl Scouts of Colorado, you support Eagle County girls having unique experiences, a supportive peer group and leadership opportunities and education.
Your dollars in action: $25 gives a gift of membership; $50 provides Girl Scout essentials — membership and a uniform; $100 provides a week of day camp and a lifetime of memories; $250 can fund troop weekly activities; $500 provides a week of resident camp and forever friendships.
Your generous gifts to Girl Scouts of Colorado build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. While it only costs $25 to join Girl Scouts, it actually costs more than $400 per year to provide each girl with the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
Eagle County Girl Scouts need your support now more than ever. Girls are feeling isolated. Providing a connection to their peers and their Girl Scout sisters is crucial to their mental health. Eagle County Girl Scouts serve this community in many ways and your support helps so many more than just these girls.
We are privileged to provide care to prevent and relieve suffering when you are recovering from medical treatment or illness, restore dignity and comfort when you are living with a life-limiting disease.
For more information: Visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org.
Home Care and Hospice of the Valley
Home health care provides quality services that allow patients to remain at home while recovering from a surgical procedure or who require assistance in disease management.
Palliative care offers an array of services focused on quality of life, symptom management, emotional well-being, and caregiver needs. It is available to people seeking curative treatment for acute or chronic illnesses.
Hospice is an approach in end-of-life care that believes that individuals with life-limiting medical conditions should be made as comfortable as possible physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.
Homemaking and companion care allows those with health challenges to remain at home and maintain an independent, safe, and enjoyable lifestyle. This includes non-medical support for things like shopping and meal preparation, medication reminders and basic household errands.
Our grief and bereavement services are designed to respond specifically to the needs of individuals and families coping with death, loss and grief. Our staff members are trained to provide the guidance and support needed after experiencing a loss.
We are a nonprofit organization, providing hospice services to anyone who needs this support no matter their ability to pay. We provide grief and bereavement support at no cost. These services are not funded. We must raise funds to support the needs of our community members who deserve these services.
For more information: Visit hchotv.org/.
High Five Access Media
High Five Access Media works within the community to provide a platform for nonprofits, students, residents, and government to share information and ideas with neighbors — locally on cable television, and globally on the internet.
Community media needs your support. Recent decisions by the Federal Communications Commission divert money from our community to the pockets of the cable industry. This, in addition to folks “cutting the cord” in favor of internet-based streaming services, means High Five Access Media needs your help. If you value programs like the ones offered by High Five Access Media, please consider making a donation through Colorado Gives.
Our mission is to empower the local community, through media education and technology, to become civically engaged, express ideas, and advocate for causes.
We achieve our mission in many ways. We cover local government proceedings so folks may make a difference in their community; free video-making education and equipment for locals to exercise free speech; affordable and high-quality video production for fellow nonprofits to share their message and garner support; and education of area youth through partnerships with schools, teachers and students, to build the next generation of media makers.
Help us weave together the fabric of our valley through local media.
For more information: Visit coloradogives.org/HighFiveAccessMedia.
Mountain Valley Developmental Services
Mountain Valley Developmental Services exists to encourage and support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, enhance their ability to live, learn, and work in an independent and inclusive manner, and to educate the community about their contributions and capabilities.
Mountain Valley Developmental Services supports adults and children in Eagle, Garfield, Lake and Pitkin counties with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our work provides life span services for these individuals, their parents and family members, guardians, colleagues at work, neighbors and friends to promote independence, quality of life, and rights protection.
For more information: Visit http://www.mtnvalley.org.
Mountain Youth
Mountain Youth has a wide reach but with a vision, a mission, and core values rooted in making youth a community priority, Mountain Youth rallies support to enable youth to reach their full potential.
We listen to the needs of the community and respond with programs that educate, enhance, and encourage strong relationships and positive decision making.
Mountain Youth provides life skills education, safe driving education, youth advocacy, and parent education throughout the Eagle River Valley. Mountain Youth provides programs such as Eat Chat Parent, Valley’s Voice, In-school Prevention Education, and Graduated Driver Licensing Laws classes. Mountain Youth’s work ensures that Eagle County youth remains a priority; striving to be a community where young people are equipped with skills that support healthy bodies, healthy minds, improved decision making, and leadership skills to guide their lives. We are a nimble organization focused on creating a better Eagle County for all, giving youth a voice in our community.
For more information: Visit mountainyouth.org.
Mountain Valley Horse Rescue
Mountain Valley Horse Rescue is committed to rescuing, rehabilitating, and finding homes for abused, neglected, abandoned, and unwanted equines. As one of the only horse rescue organizations on the Western Slope, we cover a lot of territory. Though we are making a small dent in the need, we make an everlasting difference for those equines we can save.
MVHR began in 2004 when two horses were found abandoned up in the Flat Tops. Now located on 115 acres along the Colorado River, just outside McCoy, Colorado, the Rescue serves as a beacon of hope for equines who fall on hard times. It is a place for horses, donkeys and ponies to rest and recover before they move on to their new homes.
MVHR’s current on-site population is 25 with a waiting list of more than 50. “Horse rescues do not receive any federal funding, and it costs more than $6,000 per year for the basic care of one horse,” says Shana Devins, executive director. “Mountain Valley Horse Rescue relies on volunteers, foster homes, donations and sponsorships to provide for our horses. With every dollar we raise, the lives of horses are saved and their futures secured.”
In addition to providing food, shelter, medical care and training for its rescues, MVHR works to reduce equine abuse and neglect through community outreach and education. MVHR also offers service days for adult and youth groups, summer day camps and other opportunities for the local community to get involved. For more information: Visit mountainvalleyhorserescue.com.
Red Ribbon Project
Join Red Ribbon Project for the biggest fundraising day of the year on Dec. 8. Your donation makes it possible for Red Ribbon Project to continue the movement for youth sexual health, and to build on the incredible progress in our community – like the record-breaking decline in unintended teen birth rates, and the fact that more schools than ever before have access to comprehensive sex ed.
With your support you can help increase Red Ribbon Project’s reach, and create a community where all youth have the information and resources to make educated decisions about their sexual health.
Last year, Red Ribbon Project was able to reach an estimated 1,750 youth through either comprehensive sex education or our teenage pregnancy prevention program. A key component when working with young people is simple awareness: teaching them to understand their bodies – both the physical and emotional components. We believe that our programs build increased protective behaviors. Youth are provided with concrete strategies to help recognize their emotions, and are subsequently better able to navigate relationships.
Thanks to the Red Ribbon Project, thousands of students have benefitted from the opportunity to learn about what is happening to their bodies as they become adolescents and how to keep themselves healthy, safe, and proud of the decisions they make. This year, show your support and help Red Ribbon Project continue to advance the movement for youth sexual health in Eagle County.
For more information: Visit redribbonproject.org or call 970-827-5900.
Vail Valley Salvation Army
Can you imagine having to choose between paying your utility bill and feeding your children? Unfortunately for many seasonal and underemployed workers, this is sometimes a reality.
During “normal times” our local Vail Valley Salvation Army provides emergency services to approximately 15-20 households per day, 500 per month, and 6,000 per year. These services include food, which is distributed out of the on-site pantry, one time help with a utility bill or rent.
In March, when COVID-19 hit the valley, the floodgates opened. Hundreds of locals who had never needed assistance before were not able to pay for food, rent, and utility bills.
From just March 15 through September 30, Salvation Army helped 347 households (837 individuals) stay in their homes with rental assistance. Our food pantry served twice the number of clients.
In addition to providing emergency services, the Salvation Army also provides holiday services. The Adopt-a-Family program matches local families with donors who provide Christmas gifts and some clothing. Many families also benefit from the Holiday Cabin where families are able to pick out toys for each child at no cost to the family. Bell ringing revenue pays for just over 1/8 of the annual budget and was up this season with a record number of volunteers.
With a limited staff, opportunities abound for those who want to volunteer. You can work in the food pantry, ring a bell, Adopt-a-Family for Christmas, or donate.
For more information: Go to vail.salvationarmy.org for more details.
Small Champions
Small Champions is a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing and improving quality of life by providing sports and recreational opportunities for eligible youth with physical and cognitive disabilities who are residents of Eagle County. Individuals receive needs based instruction to support their developmental progress.
Founded in 1996, Small Champions is a sports and recreation program for qualifying children ages 5 through 21 with cognitive and physical disabilities.
Our belief is that each individual deserves the best quality of life possible. Small Champions was created solely to give Eagle County children the opportunity to participate in many of the world-class activities available in our community. Allowing our Small Champions to pursue all of their dreams and goals, and instill in them the growth, confidence and determination that will set the direction for their entire lives.
We are proud to to offer year-round programs that help keep families living and working in Eagle County. These families hold jobs, participate in community events, provide the rich diversity of a healthy community, and support our non-profits and businesses. Each is important to the fabric of what makes Eagle County so unique and special.
Investments in our children are an investment for our future. Small Champions is dedicated and committed to growing our programs to meet the current and future needs of our families with special needs children.
Small Champions focuses on abilities not disabilities.
Designed for children from Eagle County, Small Champions strives to introduce a wide variety of sports and recreation activities to each of its participants. Small Champion participants are only able to experience the thrill of learning these sports with specialized equipment and instruction. Children work one-on-one with an instructor specially trained in adaptive teaching techniques and equipment to accommodate a wide variety of disabilities.
Small Champions programs provide an opportunity for these special children to be part of a group that meets often to enjoy sports and recreation, grow, learn and have fun. It is very important for our Small Champions to have a peer group, and for their families to forge friendships enabling them to help each other. No other program exists in the Eagle Valley to provide these services for these children.
SpeakUp ReachOut
SpeakUp ReachOut prevents suicide in Eagle County through education, training and hope. All programs are offered free to participants thanks to generous contributions from donors. Our goal for 2021 is for 8,000 people in Eagle County to participate in our educational programming.
We are expanding our services to address the Colorado National Collaborative Suicide Prevention Pillars: Connecteness, Economic Stability, Education and Awareness, Access to Suicide Safer Care, Lethal Means Safety, and Postvention.
We offer a robust menu of trainings — some as short as our signature one-hour Cup of Hope Gatekeeping QPR conversational style class all the way up to an in-depth intervention training called ASIST that takes two full days. In all of our trainings, whether it is one hour or two days, participants gain skills that provide confidence to help someone through a serious emotional crisis and get them to the help they need.
In addition to our trainings, we offer events with national experts on variety of suicide prevention related topics including bullying, self-harm, breaking stigmas and LGBTQ to name a few. We feel that storytelling plays a huge part in conveying our messages and when someone can tell others how they found help and learned to deal with their mental health issues, people learn that hope and help are attainable.
Executive Director Erin Ivie recently won a local award for First Responder Outreach. SURO’s work is strengthened with constant collaboration with the Eagle River Valley behavioral partners network.
For more information: Visit speakupreachout.org.
Ski & Snowboard Club Vail
Seeing so many Ski & Snowboard Vail athletes able to continue to do what they love in a safe and managed environment with SSCV coaches the past several months personifies SSCV’s motto — that we are here for the kids. SSCV provides the opportunity for each and every child, through the mentorship and role modeling of an outstanding coaching staff, to develop a passion and a positive focus which lays the foundation for a healthy active lifestyle and a positive mental outlook, something our kids need in their lives now more than ever.
Founded in 1962, SSCV, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, instills the values of “character, courage and commitment” in more than 650 aspiring young athletes each year through part-time and full-time training and competition programming in alpine, freeski, moguls, Nordic, snowboard and cycling.
SSCV believes that no child should be restricted from participating in SSCV programs for financial reasons. In these most challenging of financial times, SSCV has increased financial aid by 50% this season over last season, covering up to 75% of program fees based on need.
With SSCV’s significant loss of revenue traditionally generated by special events and sponsorships, it is critical that SSCV achieves its Annual Campaign goal so that SSCV can continue to provide the level of quality commensurate to the needs and goals of all our athletes, so they can become the best they can be.
Learn more at http://www.skiclubvail.org or by contacting SSCV Director of Advancement Sharon Schmidt at sschmidt@skiclubvail.org or 978-621-8738.
Would you believe that 1,000 Americans lose their lives every day due to sudden cardiac arrest? It is the single biggest cause of death in the U.S. but doesn’t have to be.
Starting Hearts’ mission is to save the lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims and we do this through free CPR training, education and placement of public access defibrillators. To-date, we’ve educated almost 30,000 citizens in CPR and defibrillator use through our popular, and always free 45-minute Call.Push.Shock. class.
We’ve also increased the total number of lifesaving defibrillators to more than 400 in Eagle County, making our home one of the safest in the nation to suffer a cardiac arrest, survive, and thrive.
It’s our goal to educate the entire community, place defibrillators everywhere, and empower citizens to make ours a model community for the nation. We have many ways to share the important lifesaving and leadership skills, including our new state-of-the-art online education. We encourage everyone to take a class from our many venues and offerings throughout the year. To do so, check out our website at https://www.callpushshock.life/classes/ for a schedule of classes or contact us at info@startinghearts.org. In these challenging times, we wish you good health; and encourage you to follow guidelines to keep your family, friends, and colleagues safe and sound.
Swift Eagle Charitable Foundation
As a nonprofit founded by 19 longtime locals, Swift Eagle Charitable Foundation’s roots go deep and branch out widely. The mountains, the seasons, the world class arts and music — we don’t need a brochure to list the reasons we live here; we wake up to them every day.
But as important as these things are to us, our No. 1 priority is what really makes our valley special … its people; those who work on the mountain, in the restaurants, behind the wheel, behind the desk, on the rivers, in the schools.
Unfortunately, lower wages and a higher cost of living can make it difficult to live here, and it’s often forgotten that when these very same people encounter hardship or crisis they need a hand to get back on their feet. Since 2004, Swift Eagle has provided swift financial assistance to hundreds of individuals and families through grants given for rent, mortgage, utilities, dental and eye care.
We are not only uniquely structured to respond swiftly, but with an active all volunteer board, donations go to those in need rather than salaries and overhead expenses. Due to COVID-19, 2020 has seen unprecedented need from Eagle County residents facing illness, job loss, rental and eviction challenges.
In 2019 Swift Eagle granted $135,000 in financial aid; this year it will be close to $460,000. In these trying times, as we witness the incredible dignity and grace of the people we’ve helped and the open-hearted generosity of those committed to helping our community, we are honored to call this valley our home.
For more information: Visit swifteagle.org
Trio Therapy Partners
Trio Therapy Partners is dedicated to empowering individuals and families in the Eagle River Valley through our unique rehabilitative strategies and services. We provide physical and occupational therapy services by skillfully using the dynamic movement of the horse as a treatment tool.
Therapists methodically direct equine movement to positively affect and engage each patient’s neurological, sensory and movement systems. The second service we provide is Equine Assisted Learning which is an experiential educational approach to equine assisted activities which includes ground work and/or mounted riding with equine partners in order to facilitate personal growth, social and emotional development and other life skills through equine interactions.
Trio Therapy Partners provides 250 individual appointments a year and 15 group sessions, thus serving an average of 50 adults and children throughout the year. Sixty-five percent of our clients are funded through our financial assistance fund.
Currently we operate out of the Eagle County Fairgrounds. Our ability to serve our clients in 2020 was impacted for seven weeks not only by the global pandemic but also by the Grizzly Creek Fire when the fairgrounds became the Command Center for the fire and shelter for evacuated animals.
Our fall session was exceptional, and we were able to serve 28 children a week through our individual appointments and group services. As an organization we are incredibly passionate about providing these services to children and adults in our community. The success and progress of our clients depends on the generous spirit of our volunteers, supporters and community.
For more information: Visit triotherapypartners.com
The Vail Breast Cancer Group
For 26 years, The Vail Breast Cancer Group’s fundraising efforts have supported all those in Eagle County who are diagnosed with the disease.
Everyone diagnosed receives a check from the VBCG in the amount of $500 – our Day to Play program – to help relieve the stress of treatment by offsetting medical expenses or for a personal indulgence.
Over the past 26 years, we have raised over $1.2 million due to the generosity of the Eagle County community.
Please contact us if you or someone you know has been diagnosed.
For more information: Call (970)-524-1480 or visit vvcf.org.
Vail Jazz Foundation
For over 25 years, Vail Jazz has brought world-class performances, engaging community events, and critical music education to residents and visitors in Vail Valley … and beyond. Focused on young musicians and young audiences, our mission is to perpetuate jazz: America’s gift to the world of music.
Over 62% of the Vail Jazz budget comes from contributions. These funds allow us to offer essential programs like The Vail Jazz Workshop, which offers an intensive summer immersion experience for 12 of the nation’s most promising high school performers. Funding also covers the cost of Vail Jazz Goes to School, bringing instrument instruction, concerts, and jazz history to every fourth and fifth grade classroom in Eagle County: 1,100 students annually.
If you value the energy of headliner performances, the power of the arts to bolster the economic health of our region, and the value of music education, please contribute to Vail Jazz today. Our audiences, students, and team thank you!
For more information: Visit vailjazz.org
Vail Board of Realtors Foundation
The mission of the Vail Board of Realtors Foundation is to assist the community and association members with need-based financial assistance, not-for-profit support, education, and disaster relief. To date, in 2020, the VBR Foundation has given $77,500 to our community, including local families and individuals, 13 Eagle County nonprofits, and academic scholarship recipients.
Established in 1996, the VBR Foundation promotes the community efforts of the Vail Board of Realtors. Realtor members participate in many philanthropic endeavors, from Habitat for Humanity Build Days to Salvation Army Empty Bowls, government and municipal service, and numerous other group and individual volunteer activities. This summer, the VBR and VBR Foundation participated in a local philanthropic art installation, Home for Hounds, a unique event with custom-built doghouses auctioned off to support the Eagle County Humane Society.
2020 marked the third year of the VBR Foundation’s annual academic scholarship program, with 21 applicants receiving a total of $35,000. Each scholar received up to $2,000 for educational expenses. The qualifications to receive a scholarship are academic merit, volunteer and philanthropic involvement, and residency in Eagle County.
Please help us support our community by donating to the Vail Board of Realtors Foundation on Colorado Gives Day.
For more information: Visit vbr.net/about-us/vail-board-of-realtors-foundation.html
Vail Dance Festival
Each year, more than 20,000 people attend Vail Dance Festival performances and 3,000-plus students and community members benefit from the education outreach programs including a robust Master Class series, Celebrate the Beat, Dancing in the Park and Dancing in the Streets.
In 2020, the Vail Dance Festival was re-imagined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vail Dance Festival: Digital Edition became an online Festival that captured the attention of viewers from around the world. Eight programs over eight nights streamed on Facebook and YouTube including unique performances from the past 10 years, debuts and revivals that have only been seen in Vail, a world premiere choreographed by Bobbi Jene Smith made in, and for, the virtual space, plus a range of educational programming including Passing Balanchine On with Heather Watts and Damian Woetzel.
Despite the success of the Digital Festival, the cancellation of the 2020 Vail Dance Festival created a significant financial challenge for this treasured component of Vail Valley arts and culture. The event’s success today and into the future greatly depends on the strength and support of everyone in the dance and performing arts community.
Donations made to the Vail Valley Foundation this Colorado Gives Day, including the Vail Dance Festival, will be enhanced thanks to a $50,000 matching contribution by proud VVF supporter, GMC.
For more information: Visit vaildance.org.
Vilar Performing Arts Center
The Vilar Performing Arts Center is a year-round, nonprofit performing arts venue that strives for diversity and excellence in artistic entertainment and educational activities for full-time residents and visitors alike. For over 20 years, the VPAC has entertained, educated, and inspired audiences with performances and educational programs that span the broadest spectrum of arts and learning initiatives.
Your support is more important now than ever. The cancellation of the VPAC’s 2019-2020 spring and restricted summer programming has created a significant financial challenge for the theater. Your gift today ensures a future for world-class performing arts in our mountain community.
This winter season, the VPAC will continue its programming through an innovative and distinctive new approach: offering top-tier artists the opportunity to come to our valley, safely collaborate, and perform during a multi-day “residency.” The venue is also continuing it’s outreach to local students through “STAR Pwr” and a new S.T.A.R.S. program, ‘Meet the Experts,’ helping bring young people face-to-face (virtually) with professional artists while providing students with a “backstage” view of the many careers available to those that have a passion for the performing arts.
For more information: Visit vilarpac.org.
Vail Valley Cares Thrifty Shops
The Vail Valley Cares Thrifty Shops was founded in 1994 and is a local nonprofit Christian help organization. The Thrifty Shops receive donated items from the community and recycle them through the stores. The revenue generated through the stores is put back into the community in the form of grants to worthy help organizations as well as scholarships for students attending Colorado Mountain College.
Over the past year, The Vail Valley Cares Thrifty Shops have recycled over 2,700,000 pounds and kept it out of our landfills. This was a hard year for grants and scholarships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Vail Valley Cares was still able to put over $225,950 back into our community, bringing the total to over $4,591,000 so far.
To learn more about Vail Valley Cares and the Thrifty Shops go to vailvalleycares.com and to be the first to know about sales and special happening follow them at vvcthriftyshops on Instagram or Facebook.
Vail Valley Charitable Fund
The Vail Valley Charitable Fund was created in 1996 to provide assistance to our friends, family members, neighbors and coworkers who live and work in the Vail Valley who are experiencing a financial hardship due to a medical crisis or long-term illness. Our direct aid provides relief from surmounting medical bills and living expenses, which allows our applicants to focus on what matters most — healing.
The VVCF has grown significantly over the past 24 years, having raised and distributed $8.2 million to over 1,700 families in our community. The majority of our donations come from individuals and businesses right here in our Valley. With your help, we provide on average 50 individuals and families each year with assistance to help them make ends meet while undergoing treatment or recovery from a range of medical conditions.
Your generous donation, in any amount, will make a significant impact on the life of someone in our community that is struggling and in need of your help. Some say it takes a village; we say it takes a valley.
For more information: Visit vvcf.org for more information.
Vail Valley Foundation
The Vail Valley Foundation is a nonprofit organization that enhances the quality of life in the Vail Valley and showcases our community to a global audience through arts, athletics, and education.
In 2020, the VVF took on new leadership roles, helping alleviate the secondary effects from COVID-19 by launching the VVF Community Fund, raising more than $1.2 million to support critical needs for Eagle County residents and families. The VVF also led the creation of the Private Sector Task Force to ensure continued economic vitality and unify the valley’s response to the pandemic across all local business industries, healthcare, government and public health.
Even in an uncertain year, when the vast majority of performing arts venues were closed, the performing arts continued to flourish in our valley. The VVF consistently, safely, and responsibly brought live music and live performing arts to both in-person and virtual audiences. The VVF’s internationally acclaimed Vail Dance Festival also kept the beautiful artform of dance alive and thriving through its Vail Dance Festival: Digital Edition, which exceeded 105,000 viewers.
In athletics, the organization continued with “GoPro Mountain Games: Elements” events to keep the outdoor world connected to the sports they love.
In education, the VVF’s YouthPower365 was among the first to pioneer creative social distancing education and enrichment programs to give young people productive, healthy ways to stay socially and emotionally connected, and continue to learn, during the pandemic.
All of the above is made possible because of YOU. Please consider a gift to the Vail Valley Foundation and make an impact on your community today. Donations made to the Vail Valley Foundation this Colorado Gives Day will be greatly maximized thanks to a very generous $50,000 matching contribution by proud VVF supporter, GMC.
For more information: Visit VVF.org
Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance
Trails and our public lands are more important than ever. They provide a much needed escape and improve our physical and mental health. Trail user numbers significantly increased over the past year and will continue to increase which means we need to care for them more than ever.
The Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance’s mission is to maintain, educate, advocate for, and build sustainable non-motorized singletrack trails while conserving the natural environment of our public lands.
We promote stewardship of our public lands, sustainable trail building practices and a balance between recreation and conservation. We maintain that trails contribute to the quality of life and economic vitality of the community.
We educate trail users on proper trail etiquette, seasonal wildlife closures, and leave no trace principles through our volunteer Wildlife Trail Ambassadors. We maintain our trails through our Adopt A Trail program which annually provides 4,000+ hours of volunteer trail maintenance.
We improve trail experiences by planning and building sustainable trails such as the Everkrisp Trail. We provide recreation opportunities for kids and families in free and safe environments like the Minturn Bike Park.
Please donate and help us maintain and improve the trails and public lands in Eagle County.
Your donation supports:
- Adopt A Trail & Wildlife Trail Ambassadors
- Trail etiquette and Leave No Trace principle education
- Public lands access and advocacy
- Improved sustainability and user experience of trails
- Local and regional trail planning
For more information: Visit vvmta.org or contact Ernest Saeger at ernest@vvmta.org
Vail Veterans Program
Since 2004, Vail Veterans Program has transformed the lives of over 3,000 wounded veterans and their families from across the nation, who are confronting immense physical and emotional challenges resulting from a severe military service injury. Vail Veterans Program provides year-round innovative and transformational programs that restore confidence, promote a healthy recovery, reconnect families, and facilitate the building of lifelong communities of mutual support.
Wounded service members and their families are invited to attend VVP programs at no cost, offering life-changing experiences to our nation’s heroes without geographic or financial barriers.
For more information: Visit http://www.vailveteransprogram.org/
Walking Mountains Science Center
At Walking Mountains Science Center, we envision an Eagle River Valley where everyone understands the science of nature and is inspired to take action as an environmental steward. Through robust youth programs, community programs, sustainability initiatives, and community collaborations, we reach more than 252,000 people annually.
Our youth programs connect K-12 students to the natural world by immersing them in hands-on place-based science education programs. Youth programs increase science literacy and promote systems thinking through Eagle County school initiatives, STEM programs, summer science camps, pre-school programs, early childhood family programs, and online learning. Additionally, we engage community members and visitors of all ages through experiential opportunities, community workshops and lectures, three integrated educational facilities, guided interpretive nature experiences, and the local environment. Our sustainability initiatives act as an agent of change to improve the social, economic, and environmental resilience of the Eagle County community. We serve as a resource and education hub to inspire action from local to global through climate action, energy efficiency and assistance, recycling and waste reduction, sustainable business training, sustainable destinations and sustainable tourism programs.
In the midst of the pandemic, our team has adapted to new challenges with creativity and positivity in order to continue spreading our mission to the community. Our mission to amplify the scientific voice and bolster critical thinking is more important now than ever before, and we could not achieve our mission without the generous support from our donors. Gifts are tax-deductible and may qualify for the Colorado Child-Care Tax Contribution credit.
For more information: Visit http://www.walkingmountains.org/cogives
YouthPower365
YouthPower365 is the education nonprofit of the Vail Valley Foundation. The organization’s mission is to provide extended learning year-round that inspires, educates and empowers the youth and families of Eagle County from cradle to career-readiness.
One of the many disheartening impacts of COVID-19 is the negation of the ongoing social, emotional and academic development of our youth. The work of YouthPower365 has become more critical than ever as hundreds of students and families have relied upon YouthPower365 for out-of-school education and enrichment support.
Throughout all phases of the pandemic, we have found creative ways to keep our programs in place, but we need your support to continue to achieve our goal of serving these deserving youth and their families.
Gifts to YouthPower365 during Colorado Gives Day may be eligible for the incredible Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
For more information: Visit youthpower365.org/