Beneficiaries
The Mama Rose's Estes Park Marathon is a nonprofit event with heart. It's about competing, but it's also about contributing. $10 of your registration fee is tax-deductible and benefits the following organizations:
Estes Valley Youth Center (EVYC)
The EVYC opened in September 1995 as a youth-friendly, supervised, after-school and weekend recreational facility for youth in grades 6 through 12. It is a program of the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, and is provided free of charge to the youth and families of the community. Currently housed in a 36x50-ft. modular classroom building, the EVYC is equipped with a big-screen TV, pool table, foosball table, and computers for homework and games.
The Center is overseen by a board of directors that includes two elected representatives from each grade served, plus representatives from the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District board, Park School District R-3, Town of Estes Park board of trustees, and Parents and Community for Kids (PaCK). Officers of the EVYC board are elected by the youth representatives.
A program committee comprised of EVYC board members and participants meets regularly to identify programs and services to be offered. Committees are formed as needed to help implement these programs.
Current program offerings include Friday afternoon videos, arts and crafts projects, youth leadership opportunities, homework help, and other programs as scheduled monthly by the program committee. The Youth Center is also home to the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District's winter ice skating program, and is the terminus for ski van, and Youth and Family Van trips.
The EVYC is located in Stanley Park, adjacent to the skate park and inline/ice rink-and close to ballparks, basketball and tennis courts, a volleyball pit, and playground.
Optimist Club of Estes Park
The Optimist Club is a nonprofit organization that helps meet the needs of young people in the local community. Through various local service projects and events, the Optimist Club aids and encourages the improvement and self-development of youth. The international Optimist motto, "Friends of Youth", illustrates the purpose of all Optimist Clubs to conduct positive community service and focus on providing a helping hand to local youth.
Meeting the needs of young people in communities worldwide, Optimist Clubs have been "Bringing Out the Best in Kids" since 1919. Optimist Clubs conduct positive service projects aimed at providing a helping hand to youth. Club members are best known in their communities for their upbeat attitudes. By believing in young people and empowering them to be the best they can be, Optimist volunteers continually make this world a better place to live. There are 114,000 individual members who belong to 3,500 autonomous clubs. Optimists conduct 65,000 service projects each year, serving six million young people. Optimists contribute $78 million to their communities annually.
