It Was A Good Day For A Throwdown

The 2nd Annual Cornhole Throwdown to benefit the Cottonwood Institute wrapped up last Saturday and we are happy to report that it was a success! 30 teams and over 70 spectators battled it out to show their support for the Cottonwood Institute. Despite a minor injury from Board Member Marley Steele-Inama, who developed a minor “cornhole strain” during the event, we were able to raise over $2,700 to help low-income students at West Denver Prep sleep under the stars for the first time in their lives this school year.

The competition was stiff, the sun was shining, and there was a slight breeze out of the Northeast, but in the end, Brian Wass and Aaron Rich from team Boiler Brewers emerged victorious. They earned the honor of displaying the prestigious 2011 Cornhole Throwdown trophy on their desks at work, in addition to sweet backpacks from REI and some serious bragging rights. Paul Keeney and Mike Atkins from team Park Hill Players took a close second and the coveted VIP Hanson tickets at the Fox Theater – Mmm Bop!

If you weren’t able to make it this year, you can still make a huge difference by making a tax-deductible donation by Clicking Here.

To relive the magic of the 2011 Throwdown, check out these stunning photos from the event by Clicking Here.

A special thanks goes our to our friends and sponsors for helping make this such a fun event, including: AOR, Chipotle, Denver Zoo, Fox Theater, REI, Scorzie, Two Knobby Tires, and Wynkoop Brewing Company.

Highlights from the Cottonwood Institute’s 2010 Annual Report

People often ask me about the impact Cottonwood Institute programs have on our participants and the communities we serve, and I am reminded of a quote by Paul Loeb, the author of Soul of a Citizen, we share with students at the end of our programs:

“We never know how the impact of our actions may ripple out. We never know who may be touched. That’s one more reason why, although the fruits of our labors can’t always be seen, they matter immensely.”

Through exciting programs like our Community Adventure Program (CAP), our collaboration with West Denver Preparatory Charter School, and Operation: Military Kids, we are having a tremendous impact in the lives of our students.

Here are a few of the ways Cottonwood Institute programs impacted the communities we served in 2010:

More than 1,000 participants, including more than 375 diverse youth, logged more than 11,000 program contact hours, and completed more than 3,500 environmental service-learning project hours through our educational programs, outreach programs, and volunteer projects.

Cottonwood Institute primarily works with schools and community groups that serve low-income students. On average 53% of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch — an indicator of poverty.

According to post course surveys, 98% of our students would recommend our programs to other students.

Cottonwood Institute generated over $140,000 in revenue through programs, individuals, businesses, grants, and special events. 94% of every dollar raised went to direct programming activities.

To download a full copy of the Cottonwood Institute’s 2010 Annual Report, including a list of our top supporters,  Click Here.

I want to personally thank all of our students, parents, volunteers, staff members, instructors, board members, donors, and supporters who make what we do possible.

Sincerely,

iMatter, You Matter, We Matter

Two thousand Colorado youth and their adult allies sang this chant through downtown Denver this past Saturday, May 14, 2011 as part of the worldwide iMatter marches organized by Alec Loorz, founder of Kids vs. Global Warming.  “The atmosphere created by this group of young, driven, and passionate future leaders was very unique and like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” said Marissa Bramlett, a senior at New Vista High School in Boulder.

Alex Goetz from Lakewood High School is a freshman at the beginning stages of organizing an ACE action team at his school. “I feel empowered from the march; it was a great idea.” He and his fellow action team students were among the eight action teams from all over Colorado who marched under a homemade ACE banner at the front of a line of approximately 2000 marchers.

We braved the drizzle and rain to hear our voices reverberate off underpasses and to cheer at the sound of honking cars as they sat at stoplights waiting for our enthusiastic bunch to pass.

“I loved going to the march!…We, as a people, have moved from the realization of climate change to action against climate change…If youth continue to gather and become the leading voices against climate change, then I know we will succeed in maintaining a healthy, habitable planet!”

Josh joined his action team at Ponderosa High School just last month during earth week when ACE came to his school for a presentation. He’s become one of the club’s most dedicated members and even donned a polar bear costume for the march.

Maddie a freshman from Boulder High School, helped promote the march at her school. “I loved the iMatter march, because it was an amazing group of people that carried great energy and were all there to spread the same message, that OUR PLANET MATTERS. I was so thankful to be a part of it because, with 132 marches happening around the world, we’re making a huge impact and raising our voices to help raise awareness about climate change. It’s incredible that there are so many people out there that care, but it’s important that we work to expand that awareness and educate others on how they can make a difference. I especially think its cool that this march targeted youth, because we’re the ones inheriting the planet.”

Alex Budd, the founder of Fairview High School’s Lorax Environmental Club and one of the key organizers for the Denver march said, “The march was fantastic! But this is only the beginning. The real work begins as we take all this great energy and enthusiasm into our communities and schools, and do something with it.”

We all had an incredible time and feel energized and empowered to continue the work we have already been doing in our high schools and communities. Bobby Stokes from Lakewood High School’s action team summed it up best, “The march was a bunch of happy people doing good for the planet. It is pretty hard to believe that a 16 year old could start this.”

The Earth Task Force (ETF) is a Cottonwood Institute-sponsored program at New Vista High School in Boulder, CO designed to give student an opportunity to take the lead to implement sustainability initiatives at their school.

This article was written by Amy Atkins from the Alliance For Climate Education.

2011 Base Camp Bash A Smashing Success

The final donations are still trickling in, but we are ready to declare the 2011 Base Camp Bash a smashing success.

Because of our generous supporters, we were able to raise just shy of $44,000 to help support our 2011 programs to connect diverse youth to the outdoors. This represents close to a 110% increase from what we raised from the Bash in 2010!

The money we raised this year will help support our high priority projects in 2011, including our partnerships with West Denver Prep, Community Adventure Program, Earth Task Force, and Operation: Military Kids.

If you weren’t able to attend, you missed a phenomenal party. Gallery 1261 set the perfect scene for a fun evening out on the town and the energy was kicked up a notch with rockin’ tunes from the Tommy Shreve Trio.

Fierce cravings were satisfied by Snooze, including breakfast burritos, grill cheese and tomato soup dip for dunking. But the pièce de résistance was the smores pancakes they brought out for dessert – yum!

Intense thirst was quenched by cold beer from Denver’s own Wynkoop Brewing Company and wine from Mondo Vino. And we can’t forget our new friends at Leopold Brothers who shared samples of their impeccable Colorado spirits.

If you weren’t able to attend the Bash this year or if you want to relive the evening, check out the slide show from the event by Clicking Here.

We could not have pulled this event off without support from 5280 Magazine, Exclusive Resorts,  CoBiz Financial, The Kenneth King Foundation, the Derby Financial Group, CASI, Mile Hi Specialty Foods, Scout Cleaning and Maintenance, St. Charles Capital, Whitewave Foods, and all of our patron level donors.

Till next year!

Holy E-Waste Earth Task Force!

For a week in April the front of New Vista High School was filled with what could have been trash. The culprits: the Earth Task Force (ETF).

To celebrate Earth Day the ETF partnered with Boulder Community Computers (BoCoCo) to collect and recycle 1488 pounds of e-waste!!

The ETF e-waste drive was kicked off by an unorthodox presentation from BoCoCo during which BoCoCo founder, Eric Jackson, smashed a computer with a sledgehammer during an all-school assembly to show the materials inside. BoCoCo is a community organization that tries to educate people about how to take care of their computers so that they last longer. They also plan to have an “earn a computer” program in which volunteers can earn a computer through hours at the shop.

During Eric’s presentation New Vista definitely got the message. By the first day, the amount of e-waste in the collection area had exceeded what ETF hoped to get in a week! The various electronics overflowed the collection area and even started migrating down the hallway.

The materials being recycled ranged from old PowerBooks and microwaves to 3D projectors and lots of CRT monitors. E-waste causes huge problems in its disposal because it contains very valuable metals that are interlaced with very toxic chemicals. It is commonly shipped off to developing countries where it is broken down in unprotected conditions causing health problems. Many people don’t want to recycle their electronics because they don’t know how, and it because it costs money.

ETF and BoCoCo trucked the e-waste to Eco-Cycle’s Center For Hard To Recycle Materials (CHaRM) where they insure that e-waste is responsibly recycled. There it was weighed and came in at an impressive total of over 1,400 pounds and $446.40. Paid for jointly by ETF and BoCoCo.

The e-waste drive was an effective way to let people know that it really is easy to just take the next step and recycle the old junk in your basement instead of letting it pollute the water and earth in a landfill. It was also a shocking lesson in the electronics glut that’s being created by quickly changing technologies.

This article was written by New Vista High School student journalist Seth Blum and edited by Paige Doughty.

Top 5 Reasons To Come To The 2011 Base Camp Bash

We are a few days away from the sixth annual Base Camp Bash on Saturday, April 30th, 2011 to benefit the Cottonwood Institute and everyone is buzzing with excitement! If you don’t have your tickets yet, here are the Top 5 Reasons to come to the 2011 Base Camp Bash:

5. Amazing food from Snooze!

4. Colorado beer from Wynkoop Brewing Company, wine from Mondo Vino, and spirits from Leopold Bros.

3. An adventurous silent auction with fabulous trips, concert and event tickets, restaurant gift certificates and more. And don’t forget the pre-bidding has started, so to learn more Click Here.

2. A chance to network with the movers and shakers of Denver/Boulder.

1. Let’s not forget that we’re doing all of this to help connect kids to the outdoors!

Buy Your Tickets Today: We can only sell 200 tickets and when they are gone, they are gone, so don’t miss out! Get your tickets today by Clicking Here.

We are so grateful for our sponsors, including: 5280 Magazine, Exclusive Resorts, Snooze, CoBiz Financial, The Kenneth King Foundation, CASI, Mile Hi Specialty Foods, Scout Cleaning and Maintenance, St. Charles Capital, Whitewave Foods, and all of our patron level donors!

Earth Task Force Helps New Vista High School Win National Green Prize

In February 2011, the Earth Task Force (ETF) put together a team of students and adults to write an application for the National Environmental Education Foundation to help fund sustainability initiatives at their school. Despite the stiff competition nationally, we are thrilled to announce that New Vista High School (NVHS) has been awarded the Green Prize in Public Education, along with a $10,000 prize!

Upon winning the award Kirk Quitter, Principal said, “I am incredibly proud of our community for winning this award. It would not have been possible without the hard work and amazing cooperation between teachers, students, our school and our nonprofit partner, the Cottonwood Institute.”

When two students, inspired after taking the Community Adventure Program (CAP) class, approached us about starting an environmental club at NVHS, we never dreamed where it would go. Those two students grew to three, then four, six, and in fall 2011 about eighteen students!

The ETF has done a number of enormously successful projects from local lunches to solar panel systems to transportation transformation to low flow toilets. The money they received from the Green Prize will be used to continue those efforts to help provide more efficient windows, a green roof, and a drip irrigation for the garden.

CAP and the ETF have been the twin engines powering NVHS towards sustainability. This momentum has been picked up by the community at large, with teachers and students across the curriculum taking actions to green the school, from a student run composting program, to a focus on energy efficient retrofits as the school makes decisions about what to do with their bond money.

The ETF has been getting the attention of the media recently as well. Click Here to read an article that appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera. They were also interviewed on KGNU 88.5FM last week.

Working with the community at NVHS, the support of the Cottonwood Institute and the incredible students and adults of the ETF has shown us through action what Margaret Mead said so well, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

A special thanks goes out to Earth Task Force students Kelly Muller & Seth Blum, New Vista teachers Kate Hartman and Andy Stephens, and the Cottonwood Institute’s Earth Task Force Mentor, Paige Doughty for writing and editing the Green Prize Grant.

This article was written by Paige Doughty, our Earth Task Force Mentor, and edited by Ford Church.

Whistling Dixie At The Base Camp Bash Patron Party

The 2011 Base Camp Bash is almost two weeks away, but we couldn’t resist celebrating early at the Bash Patron Party last Thursday and people are still whistling Dixie.

We met at the private home of Stephen and Genie Waters in Denver, CO and our theme was “Denver Welcomes New Orleans.” Guests were greeted by a Dixieland Jazz Band led by Lance Acker and the Acker Jazztet. Daniel Kuhlman, the owner from Tastes Wine Bar and Bistro, paired a variety of Colorado wines from Two Rivers Winery, Garfield Estates, and The Infinite Monkey Theorem with New Orleans dishes, including shrimp remoulade, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and Colorado beef tenderloin.

Don’t miss out on the next party. The 2011 Base Camp Bash is Saturday, April 30th, 2011 from 7 – 10pm at Gallery 1261 in Denver to benefit the Cottonwood Institute. Tickets are limited and are going fast, so to buy tickets, Click Here.

New Leaders Step Up At The Cottonwood Institute

New leaders have been stepping up at the Cottonwood Institute the past few months. We are excited to have April Pishna, our Adventure Coordinator for the past two years, become our first Program Director! She will be responsible for working with our educational partners and instructors to make sure we deliver fun, high quality, high impact programs for our students. Madeline Bachner is still teaching the Community Adventure Program at New Vista High School and is stepping into our Adventure Coordinator role.

New board members have also been working hard behind the scenes to infuse fresh passion, energy, and ideas. Marley Steele-Inama, Education Research and Evaluation Manager at the Denver Zoo recently joined the board to help improve our program logic model and evaluation tools. Jack Derby, a Certified Financial Planner from the Derby Financial Group, is our board Treasurer. Janet Woods, Vendor Manager at Avnet Technology Solutions, is our board Secretary and marketing guru. Chris Zook, Vice President at Q Advisors, is the new Chairman of the Board.

The compass is set and we are so excited about the direction the Cottonwood Institute is headed!

Earth Task Force Helped Bag It!

On Saturday February 19th, 2011, a few enthusiastic members of the Cottonwood Institute’s Earth Task Force (ETF) took part in the Boulder International Film Festival’s screening of Bag It, a documentary about waste created by plastic bags and plastic usage, in general.  Gracie Currier-Tait, Kelly Percy, and Zander Deetz represented the ETF and shared a bit about our efforts and actions to the community members in the audience.

The ETF members were given the opportunity to introduce the film, telling the audience a little about themselves and the efforts of the ETF.  After being inspired by Gracie, Kelly, and Zander, the audience was excited to watch the film. Bag It was an awesome and inspiring film about the ridiculous amount of plastic used every day. We learned shocking facts such as the statistic that 500 billion plastic bags a year are overflowing landfills, clogging rivers and creating vast wastelands of trash! The film was not all depressing facts, however, it had a very positive message and continues to inspire us to reduce our use of plastic. It was also hilarious, the narrator, Jeb Berrier, did a fantastic job keeping the premise of the movie light and personal. Overall, the movie was very entertaining and should be watched nationally.

After the screening, the students were invited to the Call 2 Action tent on Pearl Street. In the tent, audience members asked Gracie, Kelly, and Zander questions about the Earth Task Force and its efforts. Everyone was really impressed and supportive of everything the Earth Task Force does. The students also got the opportunity to meet Suzan Beraza, the director of Bag It. She was super excited to learn about the positive change the Earth Task Force is making. We were just as excited to meet her and talk with her for a bit.

Participating in the screening of Bag It! was a lovely way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. In addition to watching an award-winning film, we were able to meet a lot of enthusiastic community members and spread the word about the Earth Task Force. Now you have the opportunity to watch Bag It! Be sure to check out Bag It on PBS on April 18th, 2011 and check out the trailer by Clicking Here.

This article was written by Sinead Maguire and edited by Ford Church.

 

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