2019 – Cool Girls 

A scientist creeps thru cattails in Longmont’s Quail Pond to find colorful invertebrates, thrilled to be an ecologist, an environmentalist and a Cool Girl. This is one way the multicultural Cool Girls Science and Art Club nurtures the next generation of community leaders in STEAM. Touring the Dream Chaser spaceship with women engineers and an astronaut is another. Guided by passionate volunteer mentors, Cool Girls develop the confidence and skills to stick with math and science and thrive.

2018 – Imagine!

Longmont resident Gillian takes part in Imagine!’s “Horsin’ Around” class, where participants with intellectual disabilities learn how to build relationships with the horses, care for them, and ride them. Like all of Imagine!’s services, “Horsin’ Around” is community-based and designed to enhance the quality of life of people like Gillian. Community-based services enable people with disabilities to be included in society, as well as enriching communities by encouraging acceptance of all.

 2017 Winner
Education Foundation for the St. Vrain Valley

Backpack stuffing time! Every year, children in need head to school with new backpacks and supplies thanks to donors and volunteers. The cost of school supplies is a financial burden for parents of over 5,000 students in St. Vrain valley. The Education Foundation for the St. Vrain valley funds programs that support student success and teacher excellence. EFSVV is partner of Crayons to Calculators, which ensures that every child in our community has the tools to start the school year off right

2015 Winner – VIA

On July 19, 1977, Steve D. was a healthy 16 year old.  Six hours later, a buildup of spinal fluid crushed his optic nerve.  Now 53 years-old, Steve is legally blind.  Today, Steve is the first voice a customer hears at a locally-owned heating and air conditioning company in Longmont.  Via is Steve’s key to maintaining employment by providing on-demand, door-to-door transportation.  Via supports Steve so that he can fully participate in work and life!

2016 Winner – There with Care

For families with a critically ill child, the day-to-day obligations can become overwhelming. Parents worry about getting their sick child to treatment or having time to shop for groceries or preparing a meal for their other children. There With Care steps in to provide a wide range of meaningful and fundamental services, individualized to support the whole family – the patient, siblings and parents – with compassion and care. This gives a family more time to be where they are needed most

2014 Winner – Imagine!

It’s rewarding to make a contribution – and it feels awesome to earn a paycheck! Bell keeps a steady supply of boxes flowing to co-workers who package teas and energy shots at Celestial Seasonings.

Her opportunity to work there is thanks to Imagine!, which helps adults with intellectual disabilities in Boulder and Broomfield Counties become active participants in their communities. Everybody wins when people with different life experiences engage in productive work…side-by-side.

2013 Winner – Bright Eyes

Children love books. To a child, a book can be either a window to a whole new world or a mirror that reflects a bit of their inner world. When children receive books in the mail through the Mayor’s Book Club, they are excited about reading – they try to identify the letters, sound out the words, and describe the pictures with their own stories. These are all valuable steps– with the help of the adults in their lives – towards reading on their own. And when that happens, the sky is the limit.