At Eagle Valley Community Foundation we have our ear to the ground on current community issues and the challenges our neighbors face. The month of June kicked off summer with a variety of events focused on volunteer engagement, healthy food education, community connection, and inclusivity. As we wrap up the month we hope you will join us in acknowledging Pride Month, as a community based organization we prioritize creating safe and welcoming environments throughout each of our programs and events. We invite you to read and learn more about our current initiatives and how you can support health, wellness, and equity in our community!
Vail Valley Partnership Success Awards- EVCF Named Actively Green Business of the Year
Eagle Valley Community Foundation is excited to be the 2023 Actively Green Business of the Year!
In 2022, through our food rescue partners, we rescued nearly 570,000 pounds of food from grocers, 32,000 pounds from farmers, and 10,000 pounds from local restaurants. At the beginning of 2022, TCM acquired two new mobile vans to support the increase in need and be able to offer more community pop-up mobile markets, while also supporting a broader network of grocery and food rescue efforts across the Eagle Valley.
Our approach to address food insecurity also ensures that donated and rescued produce have an entire lifecycle when used through EVCF. Throughout 2022, over 81,000 pounds of past-due produce and grocery items were composted through The Community Market. Plastic bags and film packaging are important durable and lightweight protection for food in transit. EVCF partners with the company Trex to recycle 11,119 pounds of these plastics to be made into composite decking. We also recycle over 14,872 lbs of cardboard and other materials.
One-third of all food produced in the world – approximately 1.3 billion tons – is lost or wasted every year. Eagle Valley Community Foundation is committed to leading the effort of food sustainability and recovery in our local community. Thank you so much for this honor and elevating our mission!
Beth Slifer Non- Profit Leadership Gathering
Our hope is to continue to foster the conversation among our nonprofit sector to enhance community engagement and build strong collaborations for the betterment of our entire community. Beginning in September 2015, Eagle Valley Community Foundation was invited to partner with Advisory Board member Beth Slifer to sponsor an annual gathering of Eagle County non-profit leaders.
In 2023 the Gathering included over 120 community leaders and facilitated awareness and collaboration across organizations and people at the beautiful Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa. We are so grateful to Beth for her vision for this event and the work that each partner organization does for our community!
Local organizations rally to assist The Community Market with 60K Pound Food Delivery for Neighbors in Need
How grateful we are for the many helpful hands that worked tirelessly to unload a massive 60,924 POUNDS of food received at Eagle Valley Community Foundation's The Community Market a few weeks ago!
EVCF staff, Board members and volunteers, including many from My Future Pathways, YouthPower365's Peak Pathfinders AmeriCorps Program, Zealous Schools, and SpeakUp ReachOut - SURO: The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Eagle Valley., gathered in Gypsum to unload three truck loads of fresh produce, dairy and shelf table items to share with our neighbors in need. We are so grateful for this collective bounty, much of which was generously donated by the Rifle Colorado Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ, with an additional abundance being cost effectively supplied by our partners Food Bank of the Rockies and What Chefs Want. THANK YOU to all those who stepped in to lend a helping hand - together, we are Passionate people doing Powerful work to create Proven impact.
"Many hands make light work." —John Heywood
"Comer Bien" Eat Well: Partnership with Eagle County Colorado State Extension Office
This month, Eagle Valley Community Foundation partnered with Colorado State University Extension to host a free educational event about healthy eating, cost effective shopping tips and time saving recipes at each of The Community Market storefront locations. TCM staff and community members gathered to listen, learn, and actively engage in a healthy meal preparation which was then shared with market patrons. ¡Delicioso!
EVCF Women's GroupGrows with Volunteer Engagement
Our heartfelt appreciation to the Women's Giving Circle volunteers who assisted The Community Market Edwards store set up with energy, enthusiasm, and excitement. Volunteer engagement extensively facilities market preparations, helping to ensure a multitude of healthy food options are stocked and available to the entire community. With community members making over 5,000 visits last month alone, the additional hands on assistance at storefront locations has been imperative to helping feed our neighbors in need. We thank you all.
Our next Women's Group Volunteer Opportunity will be at The Community Market Gypsum on July 12 from 9 - 11 AM. Please sign up using our volunteer system Golden Volunteer, linked here.
Other volunteer opportunities are available for anyone wishing to get involved with EVCF starting with just 2 Hours. To sign up and learn more: https://eaglevalleycf.org/get-involved/
Father's Day Painting
MIRA offered a free Father's Day painting opportunity to family members while adults inquired with our Resource Connectors about services being offered throughout the Valley. Quiet painting time allowed parents to inquire about most recent updates to SNAP, WIC, and other local health and wellness resources. Children beamed with pride as they left Two Rivers Village center with beautiful "El Dia del Padre" artwork to share with their families.
E-Bike Event
Shift Bike partners with Eagle Valley Community Foundation, Vail Health, and Eagle County to bring an e-bike community education event to the MIRA Bus at Eagle River Mobile Homes. Shift Bike is an electric, pedal-assist bike share network, servicing the residents and visitors of Eagle County, Colorado. Locals were afforded the opportunity to test ride the Shift Bike and learn about the various membership plans designed to provide short, one-way trips for commuting, running errands, or connecting to transit from Vail to Avon.
Whether you’re heading to work, meeting friends for dinner, or exploring the communities of Vail, Avon, or EagleVail, Shift Bike offers a convenient, fun, and healthy way to experience the community you love.
Bringing energy assistance to Eagle County
NWCCOG is based in Silverthorne, so even with local and state funding under its belt, the team needed to cultivate relationships with organizations that the community can trust. Emily Hoskins, outreach manager at NWCCOG, said that historically, outreach in the Dotsero and Gypsum communities had been difficult. But with diligent and intentional outreach, especially in collaboration with Holy Cross Energy and Walking Mountain Science Center, they saw an increase in participation in BEECH. Their partnerships with local organizations brought more awareness, involvement, and demand into the community. Additionally, the Mobile Intercultural Resource Alliance (MIRA) bus, a local resource that visits the Dotsero Mobile Home Park on a regular basis to bring medical, financial, and cultural resources to members of the community, helped make key connections.
“We partnered with MIRA for outreach which was essential in helping to cultivate trust and transparency,” Emily said. The mobile home community is burdened with high energy costs. Emily explained how valuable it is to work with people outside of their agency on reaching more clients, so they could help people save money with no cost or investment to them. “It made it easier for us to hone in on that fact – like ‘Wow, we can really do some good here,’” she said.
The collective efforts amongst county, regional, and state entities has proven its worth – NWCCOG has already installed about 30 heat pumps throughout their territory over the course of two years and aims to do 20 more this year. The average, annual utility savings already seen in the first three homes that went fully electric has been roughly $600.
How proud we are to be a part of PRIDE in the Park with Mountain Pride, helping to afford every community member the opportunity to thrive in health and wellness. At the event we partnered with the Colorado Health Network to support HIV testing and local resource navigation. We look forward to continued partnership with Mountain Pride to ensure that community members have access to culturally responsive health and wellness resources!
Meet the Elevar Leadership Team
We are so excited to be hitting the ground running with Elevar. These efforts for equity in our community would not be possible without the leadership and commitment from this remarkable group of women. Thank you Melina, Virginia, Maria Julieta, and Erin for their leadership and support of our newest initiative.
Community Partner Highlight: Bravo! Vail Music Festival
Eagle Valley Community Foundation is super grateful to the team at Bravo! Vail for their support of neighbors in need. Bravo! Vail enriches people's lives through the power of music by producing the finest performances by the greatest artists; fostering music education; and promoting a lifelong appreciation of the arts. Bravo! Vail is committed to sustaining our local community – not only through music, but also through responsible environmental practices and partnerships.
We are especially grateful for Founding EVCF Board Member and Bravo! Vail Vice President of Philanthropy, Jason Denhart, for his vision to support The Community Market. We are so excited for their partnership in addressing food insecurity in our community through 4 food drives and 1 community music box concert!
While we continue to see increased need in our community by the record high number of customers at The Community Market, we continue to be grateful for all those who support our mission. Thank you to our volunteers, partners, Board, and donors for their steadfast commitment!
60,924 POUNDS
To sign up and learn more:
PRIDE in the Park with 
