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 2006
winners are:
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ARTS:
Dairy Center for the Arts – “Community
Box Office”
The Dairy, one of Boulder’s premier cultural
arts centers, manages performance space, theaters,
galleries and classrooms that make art happen
for 150,000 people annually. Staff and patrons
of the Dairy noticed that as the number of artists,
events and performances in our community was on
the rise, so was the frustration of arts consumers
and performers that there was no simple and straightforward
way to purchase tickets to local events. After
some research, the Dairy developed a cost-saving
central ticket program for the community: the
Community Box Office. Customers can now buy tickets
to performances at the Dairy and other venues
through on-line, phone and in-person sales window
at the Dairy.
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CIVIC:
Extras for Education, I Have A Dream, Impact on
Education, The Family Learning Center, Foothills
United Way, Sister Carmen Community Center - “Crayons
to Calculators”
In our community, more than 4,000 Boulder Valley
students from low-income homes have trouble paying
for their back-to-school supplies, which can cost
$100 or more. Each of the local nonprofit organizations
in this effort previously conducted their own
individual school supply drives. Now the groups
decided they would be more effective working together
and supporting a single, community-wide effort:
Crayons to Calculators. The united strength of
the nonprofit organizers has drawn major generosity
from local businesses and other supporters, including
the Boulder Rotary Club Foundation; Corporate
Express; Leopard Communications; the Daily Camera;
several banks, including the Boulder Valley Credit
Union, Chase, Elevations Credit Union, First National
Bank, Heritage Bank, and Vectra Bank; and King
Soopers, Whole Foods and Cornerstone Church. Community
Members can contribute cash or supplies, or can
“adopt” a student in need and purchase
supplies for him or her.
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EDUCATION: Habitat
for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley - “Youth Coalition
Partnership”
Although teenagers are not legally allowed to help
with the construction of Habitat homes, since 16-18
year olds cannot climb ladders or operate power
tools. The director of St. Vrain Valley’s
Habitat for Humanity wanted youth to be involved
anyway. He sought out high-school students, told
them about Habitat’s work, and challenged
them to find their own way to contribute. The intrepid
teens in Habitat’s Youth Group accepted his
challenge, and started focusing their creativity
and energy on fundraising and outreach. They and
their families have raised thousands of dollars
through penny wars, video game tournaments, and
a year-end music celebration known as Habifest.
Those dollars go towards construction costs for
new homes. Two years later, many of the first teens
involved, now past their 18th birthdays, have come
back from college to volunteer on the building sites.
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ENVIRONMENT: Teens
Inc. - “Youth Eradicating Weeds Threatening Habitat
(YEWTH)”
)”: This partnership brings together Nederland
teens looking for summer employment with the U.S.
Forest Service, which is extremely concerned with
the danger to the economic, recreational and biological
stability of the Nederland area posed by noxious
weeds. The teens hired through Teens Inc. first
go through a vigorous training on ecology and the
negative impact of weeds on native flora and fauna,
then they hit the trails. The forest service applied
for and received grant money to pay the teens, and
called on other agencies for additional resources,
including the CSU Cooperative Extension, Wildland
Restoration Volunteers, the Nederland Weed Team
and the Boulder Army-Navy Store. In total, the teens
have treated over 42 acres for invasive weeds and
inventoried 1,400 additional acres on lands surrounding
Nederland.
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HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:
Medicine Horse Program - “Healing With Horses”
The Healing With Horses program, a collaboration
between Medicine Horse and Hospice Cares of Boulder
and Broomfield Counties, is designed for children
ages 10 to 13 who have lost someone important to
them. Death is difficult for everyone to grasp,
but children face unique challenges as grief manifests
itself physically, emotionally and, often, behaviorally.
Why horses? This program is designed to have the
children interact gently with the horses in a way
that allows them to regain a sense of control, one
step at a time. It also provides a safe place to
“be” with the pain and intense emotions
of death around other children who are going through
a similar experience. The kids who have completed
the program report that the horses, through their
kindness and gentleness, helped them to talk about
their pain and feel less isolated through their
mourning.
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