Stories from Community-Building Organizations
Every spring, recipients of Community Grants funding from the previous award cycle submit grant reports. These grant reports provide an accounting of the dollars invested and the people served through the organizations’ work. The organizations also submit information about how their programming is evolving and the ways they collaborate with others in the community to increase their impact. That information is invaluable as we evaluate the impact of your generous investment in the Gunnison Valley via Community Grants. Perhaps the most uplifting part is the stories the organizations tell of a particularly big impact they’ve had on an individual or group. Today, we share with you two stories from community-building organizations in the Gunnison Valley.
Crested Butte Film Festival
Crested Butte Film Festival (CBFF) is in its 14th year, bringing films and filmmakers from all over the world to Crested Butte, creating a special, magical experience each time as filmmakers and audiences connect through stories and conversation, all in our beautiful, magical mountain town. The 2024 festival is September 18-22 and Festival Passes and Ticket Packs are available online at CBFF’s website.
CBFF holds many events throughout the year, with some exciting events coming up over the next few weeks featuring Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz and an event featuring Ed Zwick scheduled for July 28.
In their 2023 Community Grants Report, CBFF shared this story about the premiere of IN THE DIRT they hosted last fall:
The film, IN THE DIRT, chose CBFF for its world premiere due to the filmmakers’ regard for the festival and the stature of mountain biking in CB. Quick connections were made with Silver Stallion, the Navajo-based non-profit. Families, teachers, and counselors from the reservation wanted to come to CB, but there were financial and cultural considerations. Local lodging sponsors, especially Crested Yeti and Old Town Inn stepped up. CBMBA was thrilled to organize a ride of locals and visiting Navajo, the biggest one in years. After the sold-out film premiere, the stage was filled, and more in the audience, with Navajo who had traveled to CB. Excited conversations continued in the lobby; Silver Stallion sold all its merchandise. A Sunday morning Coffee with the Cast, hosted by Bay-area TDB Foundation rounded out this satisfying weekend. Two communities, united by cycling and a love for storytelling, came together in Crested Butte.
Gunnison Valley Health (GVH) Mountain Mamas Café
Recognizing a need for greater support for postpartum new moms in the Gunnison Valley, GVH founded Mountain Mamas a few years ago to fill this gap. Attended by 37 individual new moms in 2023, Mountain Mamas Cafés are FREE weekly gatherings for mothers and infants, available in both Gunnison and Crested Butte, with additional sessions conducted in Spanish. Around 9 Spanish-speaking and 6 English-speaking moms attend each week. Gatherings are facilitated by obstetrical nurses and lactation consultants. Group meetings include breastfeeding support, open discussions, and refreshments. Activities aimed at cultivating supportive connections and stimulating mental faculties, two things lacking when alone with an infant, include dance, crafts, walks, and cooking. Mountain Mama’s champion Kelsey Weaver says, “When a mom feels joy, she brings that home to provide for and support her family. This is a service for moms that lifts them up and helps them feel seen. In turn, it helps the whole community!”
GVH shared this story of one new mom who joined the Mountain Mama’s Café:
When we first met Julie, she was new to town and working at a fast-food franchise. She first attended GVH’s childbirth class. While pregnant, she attended a few Mountain Mama’s Cafe’s and got to know the village she was bringing her child into. Julie’s baby was born to a wealth of support. Julie frequented Mountain Mama’s Cafe with her child. Through the connections made at the groups, she found support through a challenging relationship status shift, friendships to encourage the major life transitions into motherhood, and a new job that was more suited to her talents. Fast forward to today and she is an integral part of Gunnison working with young children. Watching women root themselves through fellowship with other mothers in a community that helps them flourish is incredibly meaningful. We are supporting those who are creating the future of Gunnison. That which we water will blossom.
Celebrate our 2024 Community Grants Recipients
On August 21, we’ll gather at the Center for the Arts in Crested Butte to celebrate the dozens of nonprofits who make our community a vibrant, safe, and resilient place to live at our annual Here for Good Community Celebration event. We’ll announce 2024 Community Grants Recipients, connect with people who love this community, and enjoy music and light bites. Please join us!
