Thanks to the Denver Nuggets’ historic championship season, 47 local nonprofit organizations were able to further their mission of helping people in need in Colorado. Kroenke Sports Charities, a division of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, donated $680,000 to these organizations during halftime of Monday’s game between the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans.
Organizations like Inglewood’s Integrated Family Community Services benefited from making it to the championship playoffs last season.
KSC sold tickets to the viewing party and rally towels to fans. Proceeds from these events and sales will be Funds will be donated to 47 charities.
IFCS serves the community in many ways, but its food pantry is one of the most relied upon by local residents.
“Every time there’s a crisis in the community, people come to us for advice,” said Todd McPherson, director of development at IFCS.
IFCS has been in business for decades, providing customers with access to free fresh produce, frozen meat, dairy products and more. When open, dozens of families come through the pantry line every hour.
“We serve over 6,000 people every month,” McPherson said. “If we can relieve some of the food budget, people will be able to put money toward things they can’t help themselves with: bald tires, medical bills, school supplies. Living expenses.”
Perian Cooper has relied on IFCS for years to make ends meet.
“I’ve been through the same things (current shoppers) are going through,” Cooper said.
Cooper had been visiting the pantry for years as a resource for feeding her daughter. Years later, she began volunteering and was eventually hired as a paid staff member at IFCS.
“As a single mother, finances were tight. That really helped my daughter and I. We were barely making ends meet,” Cooper said.
Forty-six other institutions also participated in the KSC donation. They include:
1. Precious child
2. Beyond Home
3. Pueblo County Boys & Girls Club
4. Child Advocate – Denver CASA
5. Colorado Children’s Hospital Foundation
6. Children’s Museum of Denver
7. Creighton Early Learning
8. Colorado Pet Pantry
9. Colorado Springs Sports Corporation
10. Sharing food in the community
11. Craig Hospital Foundation
12. Denver Children’s Home
13. Denver Dream Center
14. Operation Denver Rescue
15. Denver Tennis Park
16. Dream on 3, Rocky Mountain
17. Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFFA)
18.Family Tree Co., Ltd.
19. Rocky Mountain Food Bank
20. Food for Thought Denver
21. Gigi’s Playhouse Denver, Down Syndrome Achievement Center
22. Hope Kids
23. Promise of hope
24. Integrated Family Community Services
25. Kids First Healthcare
26. Make-A-Wish Colorado
27.MCA Denver
28. Mercy Housing Mountain Plains
29. National Sports Center for the Disabled
30. Rocky Mountain Parkinson Association
31. Quality Community Foundation
32. Reading partner
33. Riverdeep Foundation
34. Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation
35. Rocky Mountain MS Center
36. Soldiers Angels
37. Special Olympics Colorado
38. Sun Valley Youth Center
39. Tennyson Children’s Center
40. With great care
41. United Services Organization, Inc.
42. Urban Peak
43. Warren Village
44. Don’t waste
45. We Cycle
46. Recorded Youth
47. Zuma’s Rescue Ranch
“Through celebrations, playoffs and championships, organizations like ours can benefit, and Kroenke Sports Charities has been generous enough to share that,” McPherson said. “Helping people with the basic needs of life, things we take for granted, can help propel them to the next level of independence.
“Your support for our team has a lasting impact, reaching deep into our communities to nourish lives and make a difference,” McPherson said.