YOUR AD HERE »

Local Colorado Gives Day nonprofits provide range of services

Chuck and Pearl Taylor enjoy a meal at the the Castle Peak dining room. The Taylors are among the first residents at the newly opened senior care facility in Eagle.
Special to the Daily |

EAGLE COUNTY — The clock is ticking on the biggest single day in Colorado philanthropy.

The seventh annual Colorado Gives Day is on Tuesday. On that date, nonprofit groups around the state benefit from a focused period of online giving. The day was initiated by the Community First Foundation, and on that day, FirstBank handles the transactions, and there are some matching funds available.

This year, 52 local nonprofit groups are participating. Here’s a look at the roster of worthy causes.



Castle Peak senior care

This fall, a momentous occasion was celebrated throughout Eagle County: the opening of an extended care community called Castle Peak, owned by the nonprofit Augustana Care. The new care community will serve approximately 110 people annually through assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation and skilled nursing. Augustana Care’s Castle Peak facility is here because generous donors joined Eagle County and Augustana Care to make it possible.

Support Local Journalism



Without Augustana Care’s Castle Peak, older adults and others in need of extended care would have to leave Eagle County, which would lose their talents, generosity and insights. An economic loss of approximately $43 million would also occur if suitable care was not available.

To help ensure Augustana Care’s Castle Peak gets off to a strong start, financial support is needed and Colorado Gives Day provides an excellent opportunity to provide that support.

As new staff members arrive at Augustana Care’s Castle Peak community, they need training and support to provide the quality care local residents deserve and expect. Specialized training for memory care is also needed to help those with conditions like Alzheimer’s. In addition, donations help provide essential programs and services that enhance the quality of residents’ lives.

Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, but you can schedule your donation any time prior. To learn more about how you can support Augustana Care’s Castle Peak community, visit http://www.coloradogives.org/augustanacare.

Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities began providing services on the Western Slope in 1995 with one staff member working out of the basement of the Vail Interfaith Chapel. Its purpose was to provide much needed emergency assistance services to low-income populations. Vulnerable populations served included the immigrant work force and other low-income laborers in the construction and hospitality industries. More than 20 years after its founding, Catholic Charities is still a familiar and trusted source of help and hope in the community.

Catholic Charities works to empower all in need to achieve self-sufficiency through comprehensive assessment, advocacy, emergency assistance, education, resource navigation and case management in the following programs: emergency assistance (financial aid to prevent homelessness, stabilize families in crisis and more); wage theft mediation (helped clients recover more than $165,000 in past three years); fair housing (mediating landlord-tenant disputes and advocating for access to safe and fair housing practices); victims’ services; life skills coaching; community integration services (emergency preparedness, in-depth community needs assessments and working with community partners to ensure their programs meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations).

Catholic Charities has strong community partnerships and at times partners with other community agencies to completely meet a client’s needs. Through satellite offices in Eagle and Avon, we continue to serve the poor and underserved of Eagle County.

For more information, call 970-384-2060 or visit ccdenver.org/westernslope.

Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum

The Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum was created in 1976, in conjunction with Colorado’s Centennial celebration. The facility was a gift to the residents and guests of Colorado, courtesy of Vail Associates, the town of Vail, the U.S. Forest Service, a dedicated community and a group of individuals who were committed to preserving the state’s rich ski and snowboard history and heritage.

Since its inception, the museum has served as a steward of Colorado snow sports history, communicating, honoring and preserving the legacy of Colorado skiing and snowboarding.

Located atop the Vail Village parking structure, the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum is a treasure trove of ski history and heritage. Its six themed galleries display artifacts, narratives and film documentaries that entertain and educate guests of all ages, annually attracting over 75,000 visitors.

Featured topics include the Winter Olympics, skiing and snowboarding history, Vail’s first 50 years, ski patrol, Hall of Fame and the famed 10th Mountain Division training for World War II at Camp Hale. The Museum’s 10th Mountain Division exhibit is the largest and most extensive collection of artifacts in Colorado, while the museum also hosts continuous daily showings of the 10th Mountain Division documentary film “Climb to Glory,” along with weekly presentations from 10th veteran Sandy Treat on life at Camp Hale.

The museum is currently engaged in an exciting transformation project that will expand the facility’s current footprint and modernize all of the exhibits through the use of innovative technology to tell the many stories that comprise Colorado’s ski and snowboard history.

Visit http://www.skimuseum.net for more information.

The Cycle Effect

The Cycle Effect’s mission is to empower young women through mountain biking to achieve brighter futures and build stronger communities. ​We believe that keeping girls on a healthy path through riding bikes will help get them to college. Most important, we embed life skills to forge a successful path toward educational, economic and family success.

In Colorado, close to one in three lower income, minority women will not graduate high school. We are doing our part by keeping our participants engaged in after-school and summer activities to prevent learning loss.

We work with young women in Eagle and Summit counties between the ages of 12 and 18, 85 percent of whom are lower-income Hispanic.

We offer 90 days of programming year-round to each girl. This includes providing all of the bikes, helmets, shoes and race entries. We focus on nutritional guidance, fitness, mentorship as well as helping them find jobs and providing community service projects. We guide them through the college admissions, scholarship and application process.

For more information on The Cycle Effect, go to http://www.thecycleeffect.org​ or call 970-306-7572.

Eagle County Historical Society

On a recent warm October Saturday, 250 local residents and visitors roamed the Eagle cemetery, participating in a unique tour organized and presented by the Eagle County Historical Society. History came alive with local actors portraying pioneers. Participants were entertained while gaining a sense of connection to this 133-year-old county.

That event exemplified the Historical Society’s mission of educating local residents and visitors about Eagle County’s rich history. During the past year, the society hosted guest speakers at the Avon library and led history-oriented hikes to Shrine Ridge and up onto the red cliffs of the Horn Ranch property near Wolcott. The Eagle County Historical Society also presented a local history talk to campers at Sylvan Lake State Park.

The Eagle County Historical Museum in Eagle operates from May through September. Museum exhibits tell the county’s story from the time this was Ute territory to the development of the valley’s ski resorts.

This year, 4,871 people visited the museum, including 70 second-graders from Eagle Valley Elementary who were studying local history. Last year, 376 elementary students from Vail to Gypsum enjoyed a hands-on learning experience through the History Take-Out program.

The Eagle County Historical Society is a small-scale nonprofit with a large-scale dedication to preserving local history. Honoring the past is the key to creating a better future.

Community support is always welcome. Visit eaglecountyhistoricalsociety.com to learn more.

Eagle River Youth Coalition

At the Eagle River Youth Coalition, we’ve seen how working together creates a strong community with results that positively impact hundreds of youth every year. Through valley-wide youth surveys and our Youth Leaders Council, we have a very real understanding of the most-urgent youth needs. We work with the community and other nonprofits to address those needs by increasing collaboration and offering training and support. We’ve grown to affect positive change with our parenting classes, where we discuss best practices, connect resources and provide a safe space to discuss parenting challenges. We’ve expanded our substance abuse prevention programs and ultimately give youth a voice in Eagle County.

We survey every seventh- through 12th-grader in all public and private schools in the county. Through this survey, covering topics including alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, bullying, violence, health, nutrition and fitness, we are learning that our collaborative efforts to guide, advise and strengthen the community work: fewer kids are doing drugs and drinking; more kids are making good decisions regarding driving, texting and other perilous teen behaviors. The survey is a tool to identify and develop ways to impact the priority needs facing youth in the Eagle River Valley so we can jump in to tackle these needs even as we stay focused on guiding positive choices and helping teens be positive influences.

By donating to the Eagle River Youth Coalition, you will help sustain prevention efforts that will keep our youth healthy, supported and vibrant. We have seen positive change but must stay vigilant to continue to provide opportunities and solutions for teen behavior.

Eagle Valley Humane Society

The Eagle Valley Humane Society, was established in 1974 to address the needs of homeless animals in Eagle County, Colorado. The group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all funding comes from personal and corporate donations, grants and fundraisers. The Eagle Valley Humane Society has three employees and relies on the help of many dedicated volunteers, who participate by fundraising, foster care, socializing the animals, office work and more, The volunteers are our most valuable asset.

All dogs, puppies and kittens are cared for by foster families. Those volunteers care for homeless animals to prepare them for adoption, providing the special attention and care in a home environment.

The humane society does more than take in dogs and cats and find them new homes. To learn more, call 970-328-7387 or go to http://www.eaglevalleyhumanesociety.org.

Eagle River Watershed Council

Eagle River Watershed Council is proud to have been part of the Eagle Valley community for more than 20 years. Our efforts to protect the health of Eagle County rivers and streams would not be possible without the local dedication and support that have bolstered our organization throughout that time.

Through research, education and projects, the Watershed Council strives to protect and enhance the high-quality natural, scenic and economic values that our rivers and tributaries provide to citizens, visitors and wildlife of the Eagle River and Colorado River watersheds located in Eagle County for generations to come.

The Watershed Council organizes river restoration, landscape rehabilitation, water conservation and scientific monitoring projects on waterways throughout Eagle County. We strive to take a proactive approach to educating our entire community about water. From children to adults, we know that each person has an impact on our watershed and we want to give every individual the knowledge they need to become an informed advocate for our rivers and streams. Traveling through the Eagle River Valley in the spring, summer or fall, you may see community members clearing debris from the highway and along the river, or restoring river banks at our restoration sites. Through the generosity of about 1,500 volunteers annually we are able to clean 70 miles of the Eagle and Upper Colorado rivers and 138 miles of highway!

All of our work is made possible by you, local foundations, governments, businesses and individuals that support our cause. Please consider donating on Eagle County Gives Day!

Eagle Valley Land Trust

Eagle Valley Land Trust is a nationally accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental conservation organization. The mission of the trust is to forever protect our scenic vistas, open spaces, historic lands, waterways and wildlife habitats that represent the uniqueness of Eagle County and the Central Rocky Mountains for the education, enjoyment and benefit of people who experience this special place.

Our valley faces ever-increasing development pressures, which threaten the natural beauty that is most visible and accessible to us. Eagle Valley Land Trust strives to preserve our rural heritage and quality of life through our land conservation program. Our projects protect recreational access to public lands, help local ranchers to conserve their family ranches and preserve important wildlife habitat such as river corridors and elk calving areas. In 2016, the Eagle Valley Land Trust helped conserve the 160-acre Abrams Creek Open Space. This conservation easement protects an important wildlife corridor and wintering habitat for local wildlife. Additionally, this parcel is ideally located to connect existing trails in the town of Eagle, providing valuable recreation opportunities for residents of the town of Eagle and throughout Eagle County.

The Eagle Valley Land Trust also preserved the historic 403-acre Horn Ranch, one of the most visible landscapes along the Eagle River corridor with its crimson cliffs overlooking the ranch below. It also features public access to over 1 mile of the Eagle River and will serve as permanently natural, scenic and undeveloped land between Wolcott and Eagle.

The Eagle Valley Land Trust currently holds 30 parcels under conservation easements in Eagle County, totaling over 7,700 acres of protected lands. These properties stretch from East Vail to the entrance of Glenwood Canyon and from Tennessee Pass near Leadville to Yarmony Mountain near the Routt County border.

Family Learning Center

The mission of the Family Learning Center is to work in partnership with the community to offer quality, affordable early childhood education programs and childcare in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment.

A core belief of Family Learning Center is that every child deserves access to a great start in learning and in life. As great as that sounds, it is not the reality for hundreds of children in Eagle County. That’s why Family Learning Center provides tuition assistance to over 75 percent of our students.

While Family Learning Center has helped hundreds of families over the years, the challenges of preparing children to succeed in elementary school and beyond continues to grow more costly. It’s no secret that families with young children are leaving our beautiful valley, oftentimes citing the high costs of living and childcare as primary reasons. This does not have to be the norm. That’s why Family Learning Center needs the help of our community during Colorado Gives Day.

Family Learning Center is asking for your support during the Eagle County Gives event. With your help, we can continue to invest in the future of our community while positively impacting society.

Habitat for Humanity

No matter who we are or where we come from, we all deserve to have a decent life. We deserve to feel strength and stability day after day. We deserve to know we have the power to take care of ourselves and build our own futures.

At Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley, this is what unites us. Our shared vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Every single one us deserves the opportunity for a better future.

Habitat partners with people in our local community are able build a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. A Habitat home is a stabilizing force for a family. Better, affordable living conditions lead to improved health, stronger childhood development and the ability — and financial flexibility — to make forward-looking choices.

Since 1995, Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley has built and renovated 62 homes in the communities of Edwards, Eagle, Gypsum and Leadville. Habitat is currently building six homes each year in Gypsum’s Stratton Flats neighborhood.

Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help local families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves.

To learn more, go to habitatvailvalley.org or call 970-748-6718.


Support Local Journalism