We recently hosted our annual Cottonwood Institute (CI) Happy Hour to help celebrate the end of another great year of programming! Over this past year we logged 19,200 program hours, completed 8,200 service learning hours, and served 400 participants through our 31 programs in 2018.

Our amazing programs couldn’t be executed without the help and support of our fabulous donors and program partners. Together we are able to accomplish our mission to connect underserved students to the outdoors and empower them to make positive change in their communities!

On a chilly fall evening, friends of CI gathered at Moye White in downtown Denver to be recognized for their contributions that make our work possible. Guests were treated to yummy food from Dunbar Kitchen & Tap House, beer from Great Divide Brewing Company and wine from Hahn Family Wines. As an added bonus, everyone was invited to participate in a fun Scavenger Hunt as a unique way to connect with one another!

During a short presentation, CI Executive Director, Ford Church, shared a brief update about what we accomplished this past year, and our Best of 2018 video.

After viewing some of our best highlights of the year, we ended the night by choosing prize winners from the Scavenger Hunt. Six lucky winners scored some amazing prizes including Broncos tickets, a Patagonia vest courtesy of Moye White, Maroon Bell Outdoor gear, gift cards and t-shirts from Snooze, crowler fill cards from Great Divide Brewing Company, and a free subscription from 5280 Magazine!

Cottonwood Institute board and staff would like to thank all of our donors, partners, sponsors, instructors, alumni, and students for all of their hard work and contributions to making this a successful year! Here’s to more years of phenomenal service, programming, learning, leadership and continuing to change the world!

See more photos from the event here!

A big thank you to all of our amazing sponsors for making this event possible!