ABC Fund Raising Inc and Colorado Elementary Schools Donate $78,000 to American Troops
Denver based ABC Fund Raising Inc, in partnership with 120 local elementary schools, has donated over $78,000 worth of merchandise to the Yellow Ribbon Support Center to help support American forces serving abroad.
ABC Fund Raising Inc offered parents the opportunity to donate money to the Yellow Ribbon Support Center during the 2011 fall elementary school fund raising season. This was in addition to normal fund raising items such as cookie dough, wrapping paper and chocolates. "The response from Colorado families for the troops was overwhelming. It was the #1 item purchased this fall," says Stu Nickell, owner of ABC Fund Raising Inc.
The Yellow Ribbon Support Center was founded after SSgt Matt Maupin went missing to keep his face fresh in minds of those most able to find him, his brothers and sisters in arms. Care packages with Matt's picture on them were sent to soldiers in hopes that someone, somewhere, might have information about his whereabouts.
As the effort grew, the need for some basic necessities for our troops became apparent. While focus never wavered from discovering Matt's fate, the Yellow Ribbon Support Center was soon sending packages to any soldier's unit whose family supplied the center with an address. To date, more than 17,500 packages have been sent to Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
According to Brian Binn, President of Military Affairs for the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, there are six military bases in Colorado, five of them Air Force bases. The sole Army base is Fort Carson, also known as the Mountain Post. Between all of them, there are over 62,000 active duty, reservists, and government contractors employed. Colorado Springs is one of the leading retirement locations for all branches of the military. In fact, Colorado is the 6th most popular destination in the world with 48,672 retired military living in the state. "It seems like everyone in Colorado is connected to the military in one way or another," says Patrick Anderson, Manager at ABC. "This is why we think the program did so well."
In Commerce City, Second Creek Elementary donated $640 and Alsup Elementary donated $340.
Students at Landmark academy at reunion celebrate first annual latin culture week
Landmark Academy at Reunion , a tuition-free public charter school, recently hosted their First Annual Latin Culture Week, a week focused on educating students on the various aspects of Latin culture, from music and art to sports and celebrities, through unique activities. During the week-long celebration, students were able to step into the lives of the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans with Latin culture lessons through piñata making, cultural crafts, songs, traditional foods and more. Students made maracas and learned a traditional Mexican Hat Dance; created Aztec suns working with metal tooling; and studied different countries in Mexico , Central America and South America . Aztec dancers from the Colorado Folk Arts Council also visited with students and educated them on the spiritual and traditional aspects of Aztec culture through dance. “We reside in a community with strong Latin and Hispanic roots,” said Matt Carlton, principal of Landmark Academy at Reunion . “Our community culture is important to us at Landmark. By providing unique ways for our students to learn the various backgrounds of our diverse community they are able to understand and appreciate different cultures.” For more information about Landmark Academy at Reunion , please visit www.landmarkacademy.org.
