| The NOVA Awards |
Each fall The Community Foundation
presents NOVA Awards at the Community
Stars luncheon. Given in the categories of Arts, Civic,
Environment, Education and Health and Human Services,
these awards are designed to recognize and honor some
of the outstanding nonprofit organizations in our county.
Each of the NOVA award winners is presented with a beautiful
plaque designed by local artist John Haertling, accompanied
by a $1,000 cash award.
The 2005 winners are:
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ARTS:
Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts - "Heartstrings
Program"
"Heartstrings" provides tuition assistance
and musical instruments to students in need. Over
200 instruments are available at low or zero cost
to the student. This Program demonstrates that
sharing music and the arts along cultural, racial,
socio-economic, and other "boundaries"
creates community, promotes understanding, fosters
appreciation and respect for people of other ethnicities
and cultures, and brings an element of joy to
daily life in Lafayette and beyond.
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CIVIC:
Boulder County RSVP (Retired Seniors Volunteer
Program) & Albertson's Grocery Stores - "Carry
Out Caravan"
At Albertson's Stores in Boulder County, RSVP
volunteers take phoned grocery orders from homebound
seniors and adults with disabilities. Once each
week volunteers shop and deliver the groceries.
In 2004, there were nearly 1800 deliveries to
over 300 clients representing an 84% growth in
the program. The program is the only free grocery
delivery service in Boulder County, and not only
delivers food to those who are homebound but also
provides a „friendly visitor" to those
who are served.
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EDUCATION: Impact
on Education - "Boulder on Board"
Boulder on Board is a real estate trading game featuring
Boulder's businesses and attractions. The sale of
the game has yielded over $100,000 for Impact on
Education's Opportunity Fund. The Opportunity Fund
ensures that students in the Boulder Valley School
District can attend field trips, and participate
in extracurricular activities regardless of their
financial situation or the school they attend. Since
its creation in June 2004, over 1,000 students from
low-income homes have benefited from the Opportunity
Fund.
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ENVIRONMENT: Eco-Cycle
& Boulder Farmers' Market - "Zero Waste
Farmers‚ Market"
The Zero Waste Farmers' Market is an excellent model
of business cooperation that also makes good environmental
sense. Eco-Cycle met with each market vendor and
found compostable alternatives for the items that
previously generated trash, including plates, bowls,
cups, straws, and lids. Signs at each booth assure
the public that everything is compostable or recyclable,
and similar signs instruct people on how to sort
their discards. If visitors bring in trash, they
are asked to "pack it in, and pack it out"
just as they would when visiting the mountains or
an open space area. The Boulder Farmers' Market
is the first community market in the country to
become a Zero Waste model. A long run community
benefit is that this model demonstrates to residents
the value of their food waste as a local compostable
resource.
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HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:
Community Food Share - "Feeding Families"
"Working poor" families in Boulder County,
families from the I Have a Dream Foundation, Family
Resource Centers, and Parenting Place, attend monthly
parent meetings and volunteer in their respective
programs and then receive one grocery cart of food
and supplies once a month. Approximately 50 families
shop each Thursday afternoon and evening, with 200
total families currently participating. In 2004
262,378 pounds of nutritious food were distributed
and many volunteer hours were contributed.
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