Nature can be beautiful in our home state, but it can also bring its share of disasters that we can’t control. As a Colorado company, we understand the devastation that wildfires can cause.
That’s why we jumped into action during the Marshall Fires on Dec. 31st.
This year it hit very close to home for us. Many of the families around us in Louisville, Superior, and Boulder were impacted by the fire. Had the community not reacted as fast as it did, it’s likely the fires would have reached our doors at Mountain Kids.
Here’s how we helped our community in need during one of the most destructive grass fires in Colorado history, and how you can continue to support Coloradans in need during the rebuilding process.
Childcare and Care Packages
The most important thing to us is that your children and family are safe, especially during an emergency. When the fires continued to spread, we offered up Mountain Kids as a safe place and continued to monitor the situation.
We offered free childcare to the community the week of the fires and our staff pitched in to help watch kids who had been evacuated from schools and homes.
The week of the fires we decided to give out over 40 care packages with essentials for families who’d lost their homes and offices. From clothing to toiletries to treats, we wanted to make sure that families had what they needed, and some comfort items to get them through.
We donated over $8,000 in gift cards so that families could buy groceries and needed items while they were evacuated.
Mountain Kids Scholarships
We know how important keeping your kids active is, regardless if your family can afford to be in a program.
To help struggling families, we provided 4-month scholarships to Mountain Kids classes for over 35 families for a total of $30,000. We will continue to provide these funds to families as the community begins the slow recovery process.
Working with Local Companies
When disaster strikes, we look to our community to problem solve.
During the fires, we worked with local companies like Boulder Body Wear, Destira Leotards, and Ninja Zone to replace dance, gymnastics, and ninja wear for kids who’d lost theirs to the fire.
Deuter USA provided 40 backpacks to us which we stuffed with school supplies for impacted families.
There With Care also donated care packages and stuffed animals for families.
In the past, our dance recital has been a fundraiser for There With Care, however, moving forward this year we will be raising funds for Community Food Share.
$1.00 from each enrollment each month is donated to the Community Food Share — which we started in the fall of 2020. This will help families get warm meals as we continue to remove the wreckage of the fire.
How You Can Help
At Mountain Kids, we’re more than a kid’s gymnastics facility, we’re a family.
We aim to help every impacted family who joins us for programs, and we’ll continue to look out for them as we all rebuild what was lost.
If you’re looking to contribute, we’ve rounded up a list of all the Mountain Kids families who have lost their homes to the fires and what they need right now.