The Cycle Effect hosts ‘most successful annual fundraiser to date’
Jesse Star Productions/Courtesy photo
The Cycle Effect hosted their annual matching gift fundraiser at the end of June at Larkspur restaurant. The in-person event, along with the digital campaign, has currently raised over $330,000. The evening’s presentation inspired an anonymous donor to give an additional $50,000 toward the original $125,000 matching gift challenge. The organization is currently raising funds to unlock the full surprise $50,000 gift; donations are accepted on TheCycleEffect.org. These additional funds will help support the organization’s goal to increase the number of athletes it impacts annually.
The event featured impactful stories from graduating athletes and a powerful speech from a former Cycle Effect athlete who is now on The Cycle Effect Board of Directors. Each of these individuals’ stories illustrated how The Cycle Effect changed the trajectory of their life in positive and impactful ways. The event raised funds to help empower nearly 315 young women who are participants in The Cycle Effect’s programs in Eagle, Summit, Mesa, and Routt Counties.
Roccio “Coco” Andrade, one of The Cycle Effect’s first athletes, spoke at the event. Andrade started in the program when she was 13 years old, and is now a Cycle Effect board member and a Bilingual Behavioral Health Case Manager for Eagle Valley Behavioral Health.
Andrade spoke about the larger impact the program has had on her life, “Courage is the greatest quality I developed at The Cycle Effect because I learned I could get out of my comfort zone and still have control over it,” she said. “Every time I fell, I got back up and did it again. Mountain biking taught me lessons that I would have never learned in any other sport. To this day I apply everything I learned on the bike in my professional career.”
Andrade was an Eagle County Guardian Scholar in 2015, a My Future Pathways & Eagle Valley Behavioral Health Scholar in 2019 and graduated from Colorado Mesa University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice followed by earning her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver.
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“Over the last 12 years Coco has been a pivotal member of our family. From a pioneer in the program, to an inspiration to other girls with her educational pursuits, to now helping shape the organization’s future as a board member, there is no one that represents the organization better than Coco,” Brett Donelson, The Cycle Effect founder and executive director said. “She and I are both enjoying that she is now my boss and we look forward to what the organization can do in the future.”
The fundraising efforts for The Cycle Effect’s fundraiser were doubled through matching gift donors who have been inspired by the impact of the organization: Janelle & Buck Blessing, Sue & Dr. Erik Dorf, Tina Nielsen & Andy Littman, and Susan & Gary Rosenbach.
“The Cycle Effect’s program is extremely inspirational and we have been impressed with the impact on each participant,” Susan Rosenbach, a matching donor and board chair of The Cycle Effect, said. “We are so excited to see the growth of the organization with the increase in number of athletes across each county and the recent expansion of a new program in Routt County. The organization has truly been pivotal in changing the lives and futures of participants and we are proud to be a part of this community that embraces such a valuable program.”
