BRIEFS

Colorado residents donated approximately $15 million to charities on Tuesday, Dec. 4, as part of Colorado Gives Day 2012. Arvada-based Community First Foundation and FirstBank Holding Co. sponsored the third annual charity giving day, marketed with the tagline, “Give where you live.” In 2011, Colorado Gives Day raised $12.4 million for 928 nonprofits across the state. Donations to local charities still are being accepted through the Community First Foundation at GivingFirst.org.


GOOD DEEDS

WOW! Children’s Museum in Lafayette received $5,000 from Plexus Corp. in Boulder, which will be used to support remodeling of the sandbox exhibit and a new beach-themed playscape geared for toddlers. The remodeled sandbox, which opened Dec. 18, encourages young children to explore the properties of sand with new funnels, ramps, sieves and more. The toddler playscape is scheduled to open next summer.

Mary Ellen Wood, a Louisville-based broker with Boulder-based Homestead Real Estate LLC, is offering a $400 donation of her net commission to local parent-teacher organizations when a buyer or seller she represents requests the money be earmarked.

Lucky’s Market in Boulder donated $20,000 to Boulder-based Community Food Share for its annual “Bag Hunger” food drive — double the amount the food bank needed to meet the drive’s goal.


GRANTS

A $29.9 million federal grant to help prepare Colorado children for kindergarten will impact Boulder County employers, according to a nonprofit children’s advocacy group. While no dollar amount has been set yet, the Lafayette-based Early Childhood Council of Boulder County is expected to receive a proportional amount of the federal grant, said Bobbie Watson, executive director of the nonprofit group. The money will be used to ensure quality early childhood services are available to families and children in Boulder County.

Boulder County CareConnect received a $12,000 grant from the Amgen Foundation, and a $5,000 grant from the Anschutz Family Foundation. These funds will support Boulder County CareConnect’s Safety Net and Community Outreach services, which engage older adults in volunteerism and provide direct services to underserved seniors and adults with disabilities. Direct services offer assisted transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping and delivery, minor home repairs and maintenance, fall-prevention and snow removal.

WOW! Children’s Museum in Lafayette received a $3,000 grant from Xcel Energy through its Arts & Culture focus area. The museum will use this grant to fund and support arts- and culture-focused programming, performances and special events, focusing on those receiving support from WOW!’s scholarship program.