Wow, what a night! Cottonwood Institute hosted its 10th Annual Base Camp Bash this past Saturday, April 11th, 2015 at RedLine in Denver and the event exceeded our wildest expectations.

The VIP Party set the stage for a great evening with music from the Lance Acker Quartet, cocktail tasting from Randy and Ryan Layman from Ace Eat Serve and Steuben’s, and was complimented with appetizers from Butcher’s Bistro, Cake Crumbs, and PB Love!

The evening roared on during the main event as Snooze featured their amazing food along with beer from Great Divide and incredible wine courtesy of Il Castagno.

We paused to honor our 2015 Ripple Effect Award recipients, Cassidy Lam and Juliet Luna from New Vista High School and Dominic Harta from Strive Preparatory Schools who all went above and beyond with their Action Projects last year to help tackle local issues in their communities. A special shout out goes to Cracker 8 Projects for crafting such beautiful Ripple Effect Awards.

It is easy to sit back and let the world happen around me, instead of reaching out to change it…Getting involved with the Cottonwood Institute improved my leadership skills and sharpened my problem solving abilities. But on a larger scale, it has awakened me to the fact that each action I have has an effect…Each small project that we take on speaks to a larger issue, and when we execute them, we will not hesitate to change the world. -Cassidy Lam, Earth Task Force Student

Then Andy Seth, our “accidental auctioneer” from LotusGroup Advisors rocked the mic through our live auction and paddle raise and helped raise some serious money for our 2015 programs to help serve 500 participants this year. At the end of the night, Cottonwood Institute raised over $60,000 to help support our programs for our high need educational partners, including: Casa de la Esperanza, Colorado Youth For A Change, Military Kids Project, New Vista High School, and STRIVE Preparatory Schools.

We could not have had such a successful evening with our our incredible staff, volunteers, and supporters, including: AOR, Snooze, Taddonio Family Foundation, Climax Molybdenum, CoBiz Financial, Great Divide, Guaranty Bank, Holland & Hart, Kelly & Walker, Ace Eat Serve, Butcher’s Bistro, Cake Crumbs, CASI, Il Castagno, core design studio, LotusGroup Advisors, MegaStar Financial Corp., PB Love, Samuel Engineering, Cracker 8 Projects, and Eco Products. Please help support these great companies that help support the local community!

If you missed the Bash this year, or if you want to re-live the magic, check out photos from the Bash. You can also help Cottonwood Institute thrive by making a tax-deductible donation.