#GivingTuesday – A Few Worthy NonProfits to Consider

Today is Giving Tuesday. Each issue we choose to feature a non profit that impacts our communities. Some are large, others are small, all are worthy of our support. If you can, please consider donating; if you can’t, we also understand. This time of year can be overwhelming. Here is a roundup on five non profits we have discussed over the past year:

Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics

The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is a national organization that protects the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly. The Center accomplishes this mission by delivering cutting-edge education and research to millions of people across the country every year. The Leave No Trace Seven Principles are the bedrock of the Leave NoTrace program. They provide guidance to enjoy our natural world in a sustainable way that avoids human-created impacts. If you cannot give money than consider adapting The 7 Principles. They have been adapted so they can be applied in your backyard or your backcountry. 

Consider Donating to help protect the Outdoors: https://lnt.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=3ry

The 7 Leave No Trace Principles:

Plan Ahead and Prepare

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

Dispose of Waste Properly

Leave What You Find

Minimize Campfire Impact

Respect Wildlife

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

To further educate yourself head to www.LNT.org/learn/7-principles

POW – Protect Our Winters

You’re not imagining the weird weather. Here in our Colorado mountain towns, the lack of winter weather is way too real. Protect Our Winters, POW for short – is on a  mission to engage and mobilize the winter sports community to lead the fight against climate change. Their focus is on educational initiatives, advocacy and the support of community-based projects. It starts with each one of us.

How, you ask?

Measure and reduce your carbon footprint 20% each year. Eat less red meat. Take public transportation. Buy an energy-efficient car. Reduce your energy consumption at home: install solar panels; use energy-smart appliances; change your light bulbs; take shorter showers. I bet you can do at least one of these. Get involved. And if you can, donate:

WE ALL NEED WINTER.

www.protectourwinters.org

First Descents

The First Descents organization is incredible, providing life-changing outdoor adventures for young adults impacted by cancer. In 2001, ten young adults took to the rivers of Colorado in whitewater kayaks. For seven days, they learned the basics of the sport, eventually conquering Class III rapids before the week’s end. They were there to prove themselves and to prove a point: that cancer, no matter how aggressive, dormant, advanced, or invasive, would never be stronger than they were.

Since then, First Descents has utilized whitewater kayaking, climbing, and surfing to promote emotional, psychological, and physical healing for over 3,000 young adults with cancer. We invite you to learn more about how you can participate, help, donate, or volunteer.

www.firstdescents.org

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative is the country’s leading high-altitude trail-building, terrain-restoration, and hiker-education organization. To date the Colorado FourteenersInitiative has constructed 31 sustainable summit hiking routes on 28 Fourteeners to help mitigate impacts associated with260,000 annual hiking use days on these peaks. CFI also provides on-mountain hiker education in Leave No Trace practices to Fourteener enthusiasts to limit recreational damage to rare and fragile alpine tundra ecosystems found on the peaks. Their mission is to protect and preserve the natural integrity of Colorado’s 54+ 14,000-foot peaks through active stewardship and public education. Get involved or help support this fabulous non-profit.

www.14ers.org

Chris Anthony’s Youth Initiative Project

Chris Anthony, a Colorado native and longtime Vail resident, has competed for most of his life at an international level and traveled as an athlete and on-screen personality with the Warren Miller Film Team. He launched his Youth Initiative Project to help kids improve their quality of life through education and by empowering them with a powerful message, “If you can Dream it, then set a goal for yourself and reach for it”. Chris has visited over 35,000 Colorado kids and offered them experiences and information on empowering them to succeed through motivational presentations and on the slopes fun. 

www.chrisanthony.com/youth-initiative/

by Holly Battista-Resignolo

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