Colorado comes through...

You may have read before the Thanksgiving holiday that charitable organizations in Denver and throughout Colorado were struggling to gather enough donated food to provide holiday meals for those in need. You're also probably aware that the need this year is greater than normal due to the economic conditions we're facing as a State and as a nation.

One of the local organizations, the Denver Rescue Mission, had put out the word that they were in dire need of help, and Colorado businesses answered that need. Organizations as  varied as the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club, XEROX, Delta Sigma LLC, Tree Land, Toyota Motor Sales, Mark Schlereth's Stinkin Good Green Chile, The Denver Foundation, Presidential World Wide Transportation, St. Anthony's Central Hospital, and The Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, stepped forward. Pinnacol and its employees were also  happy to participate. Companies raised money, held food drives, and donated turkeys so that the Denver Rescue Mission and other charitable organizations were able to share Thanksgiving meals with more than 150,000 hungry folks in Colorado.

The Denver Rescue Mission acts as a 'turkey collection center" that distributes turkeys to other organizations who are also providing holiday food boxes to those in need. This year, thanks to the efforts of businesses as well as the broader Colorado community, the number of turkeys collected was nearly 17,000 compared to 5,000 in a normal year. The increase allowed food to be distributed to organizations such as Project Hope, Wishing Well Enterprises, Metro Denver Partners, Straight Ahead Colorado, Food Works (COMPA), Arvada Food Bank, Weld County Food Bank, and others.

The need, of course, remains long after after the Thanksgiving holiday. Some food banks are reporting that they have only a third of the food they normally would at this time of year. And, as I mentioned earlier, the need is great. The Denver Rescue Mission alone serves more than 600,000 meals to hungry people and its just one organization.

Pinnacol is committed to doing what it can to help and we applaud Colorado businesses as well as the broader Colorado community in coming through during these very challenging times.