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Roadrunner Walk-A-Thon Attracts Supportive Neighbors
A Free Online Public K-12 School Proven to Help Students Succeed
“Run! Road Runner, Run!” was loudly heard from participants at Hope Center’s 3rd annual Walk-athon event, on Sept. 7. It was a classic autumn morning, a crisp blue sky and a nip in the air over the Stapleton neighborhood’s Central Park with a view of mountain peaks, just right for running a 5k or walking a brisk mile. Participants ran to support an agency that has carried the baton for quality early childhood education, developmentally disabled children and adults before it was the popular thing to do. This award winning non-profit, located in both the Clayton/Cole and Northeast Park Hill community, and serving all populations from high risk and low income to high income and gifted has been meeting this city’s needs for more than 51 years. Hope Center, an innovative leader in the industry, has always had to rely upon the generosity of those it serves – families, communities and those who care, to keep it thriving. “It’s not easy,” said President and CEO Gerie Grimes. “Without people and businesses like our sponsors this year, we would have an even more difficult time maintaining a top-notch school and vocational center for adults.” A premier sponsor this year was the Harvest Meat Company which has operated in the neighborhood and served Denver since 1995. John Rosasco, its branch manager sings praises to the work of Hope Center but also admonishes businesses to do as much as they can in the neighborhoods where they do business. “Many of our employees don’t live in Hope Center’s neighborhoods but we do more than support our 40-plus employee family. We encourage them to care about the families in our community and especially Hope Center with a long track record for serving through good times and bad.”
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – October 2013
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Families from Harvest Meat Company participated with families from Hope Center making up nearly a hundred. “I attended Hope Center’s first event and loved the location and the family atmosphere,” said Virginia Schulz, an employee at Harvest. “I knew it would be a good thing to get our staff involved. It feels good to do something healthy and support an agency like Hope Center at the same time.” Another employee said, “This is so awesome; more people need to come out and experience this!” The Harvest Meat Company said they are committed to making where they work a better place for everyone. Other businesses and organizations that showed how much they value the work of Hope Center through their participation included: the Colorado Rapids, The Denver Zoo, Denver Health Medical, Donut Angel, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, On The Move Studio, Sam’s Club, The Zone Healing Center, Denver Preschool Program, Kids Choice Dental, Stapleton Fire Department and RedLine. Sponsors included Deep Rock Water and Stapleton Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities. Editor’s note: For more information on Hope Center, call 303-388-480l or visit www.hopecenterinc.org.