VOC’s Uniquely Colorado Raises $16,500 for Inclusive Stewardship

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VOC’s Uniquely Colorado Raises $16,500 for Inclusive Stewardship

Alex Schupp • October 2, 2020

On Wednesday, September 16,

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) hosted our 6th Annual Uniquely Colorado fundraiser – this year “MASKerAIDing” as a virtual event via Zoom Conferencing – and raised over $16,500!

Nearly 100 people attended the hour-long event, which celebrated the accomplishments of VOC volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. While VOC is typically able to engage nearly 5,000 volunteers across 100 volunteer projects each year, COVID-19 delayed volunteer work until July and significantly reduced group sizes. But with the continued support of partners and sponsors, VOC is now on track to deploy approximately 1,000 volunteers across 47 projects – from building and maintaining trails to removing invasive weeds and restoring burn areas – by the end of the year.

This success is in no small part due to the generosity of sponsors like Bank of America, which was recognized at the event as VOC’s 2020 Outstanding Corporate Partner of the Year. Ever since Bank of America first sent a group of employees to volunteer with VOC in 2018, they have shown their dedication to outdoor stewardship through continued employee engagement and financial sponsorship. This commitment was made even more clear when, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bank of America reached out to us directly to learn what we needed as an organization and how they could help.

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Employees volunteering at Corwina Park.

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MyEnvironment "Lunch & Learn" with VOC

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Employees volunteering at Gateway Mesa Open Space.

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Bank of America at last year's Uniquely Colorado event.

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“We are honored to receive this award and proud of our partnership with VOC because Bank of America believes that a healthy environment and access to open spaces nearby, where our employees and customers live, work, and recreate, are critically important," said Zach Jara, senior project manager and MyEnvironment Colorado employee network chair with Bank of America. “Our organizations have a shared commitment to actively engage in environmental stewardship to preserve Colorado’s natural resources.”

In addition, the MASKerAIDing as Uniquely Colorado event featured a panel discussion on how to make outdoor recreation and stewardship more inclusive of, and for, all Coloradans. Moderated by Denver7’s Anne Trujillo, our panel included Taishya Adams, Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commissioner and Co-lead of Outdoor Afro Colorado; Scott Gilmore, Deputy Executive Director of Denver Parks and Recreation; and Parker McMullen-Bushman, Colorado State University Extension Director for the City and County of Denver and co-founder of Inclusive Journeys, home of the Digital Green Book project.

The stories shared by our panelists were just one step in a much longer journey to better understand the diversity of outdoor experiences so that we can strengthen our collective commitment to ensuring the outdoors are accessible, inclusive, enjoyed, and conserved for generations to come: 50% of the proceeds from this event will be allocated for VOC’s work in addressing issues of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

We are incredibly grateful to our event sponsors as well as everyone who purchased tickets to this event and/or bid on any of the original Colorado artwork that was up for grabs in our first-ever “Color Me VOC” art auction. More than 30 local artists donated pieces for this event, including former VOC Board Member, Betsy Johnson Welty, who donated the painting that inspired VOC’s first logo.

Other participating artists included:

Anita Winter - Ann Lederer - Anthony York - Barbara Yates Beasley - Beth Sanders - Betsy Johnson Welty - Betsy Keyes - Brinkley Messick - Caroline Hanna - Cheryl St. John - Christine Hillhouse - Colleen Smith - David J. Kennedy - Dolores Peterson - Gary Michael - Janet Anderson - Janice Wright - Joni N. Emily - Julie Leidel - Kellie Johnson - Kelly Shanafelt - Laura Chappell - Linda Strand - Mara Stitt - Mary Clark - Mary Elliott - Michael Keyes - Mimsi Milton - Patricia Cook – Patti Romano - Peter Roosevelt - Ric Romano - Rodney Buxton - Rolf Dahl - Sean Doherty - Stacey Roberts - Susan Weingardt - Teri Hendrix - William Stoehr

MASKerAIDing as Uniquely Colorado was sponsored by media sponsor Denver7, as well as Alpine Bank, Empower Retirement, Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Noble Energy, and Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC.

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