Fifteen area non-profit organizations boosted their funding at the 16th annual Non-Profit Money Booth event at Sky Ute Casino on May 14. The casino takes applications each spring and selects 15 groups to participate in the money grab.
Before heading to the money booth, the selected participants each got $500 during a reception that featured a buffet of shrimp cocktail, Swedish meatballs, fresh veggies and dip, crackers and cheeses, and dessert offerings.
Casino General Manager Charley Flagg said the casino has donated just over $275,000 to area non-profits since the event started. Casino Special Events Coordinator Tracy Leppert gave hints on how participants might maximize their take from 45 seconds in the money booth. "We count your money and put the money back in the booth, so everybody has the same amount of money" available to grab, she said.
A representative from each group got to describe their group's mission.
"This couldn't have come at a better time," said Kacey Correia from Dancing Spirit Community Arts Center in Ignacio. She noted Dancing Spirit is one of the groups working to turn the old Ignacio Elementary School downtown into a community center like the Smiley Building in Durango. Including the $500, Dancing Spirit took home $1,540.
Bruce Clark, president of Friends of the Ignacio Library, said the library is becoming a center for the community, and the Friends group helps fund some of its activities. The library now has a 3-D printer, he said. The Friends took home $1,400.
Tuggy Dunton, who founded Wings of Freedom with her husband, said the group encourages Native Americans "to embrace their God-ordained identity." They will use the money to upgrade the computer they use for presentations. Her group took home $1,745.
The Bayfield-based Be FRANK Foundation took home the most money of the evening, $2,630. Board member Jeff Merchant described the variety of youth activities the group provides in music, environmental and outdoor activities. "We are launching an outdoor program, Be WILD, next month" with an overnight camping trip, he said.
Larry Corman represented the Grange's People Improving Communities and Kids. One of their activities is helping hearing-impaired kids. Their money will go for much-needed maintenance on the Mt. Allison Grange Hall, built in 1916. They took home $2,280.
Bayfield Lions Foundation representative Ken Gaherty described the activities of the Bayfield club and Lions International, with a focus on vision services. Local members do vision screenings in Bayfield and Ignacio aimed at pre-schoolers, because vision problems are easier to treat if caught early, he said. The foundation is a separate entity from the club, and $1,745 will go toward the next phase of Lions Hall renovations.
Paula Watson represented Wolfwood Refuge, a sanctuary for wolves and wolf-dog hybrids turned in by people who thought they would make cool pets. Wolfwood took home $2,200.
Bridget Roderick reppresented the Ignacio FFA Booster Club, which took home $1,795.
Other participants were Adult Day Care at Our Place which provides caregiver respite, $2,280; La Plata Council on Aging, $1,095; the Health Coalition of Southwest Colorado which provides $500 grants to people in cancer treatment, inclcuding five from Ignacio last year, got $1,675; Veterans' Memorial Park of Archuleta County, $1,230; GECKO (Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors), $1,470; Tribal College Journal, $1,810; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation NM chapter, $1,295.
