Osborne Trust grants $115,000 to 22 charities serving Westside/Ute Pass
William and Betty Osborne's gift to the Westside and Ute Pass has continued into a fourth decade.Through the stewardship of a Board of Trustees consisting of past presidents of the Garden of the Gods Rotary Club, grants from the Osborne Trust Fund have been disbursed on an annual basis since 1985 to nonprofit groups that aid the needy.
The 32nd annual awards, totaling $115,000, were presented at a luncheon Oct. 25. A total of 22 entities received monetary help for a broad range of assistance efforts.
This year's top recipient (as it is most years) was Westside CARES, 2808 W. Colorado Ave., with $27,300. The funds will be used in
Representatives of the entities that received
awards from the Osborne Trust in 2016 are (from left), SEATED: J.B. Miller,
Osborne Trust Board of Trustees; Gail Ruth, Multiple Sclerosis Alliance; Frieda
Martin, TLC Pharmacy; Barbara Caudle, Alzheimer's Association; Bob Null,
Reading Success Movement; Nikki Pfeiffer, Multiple Sclerosis Alliance; Noreen
Landis-Tyson, Community Partnership for Child Development (CPCD) Mary
Bielz, Community of Caring. MIDDLE ROW: Judi Hesselberg, Little Chapel
Food Pantry; Janie Child, Community Cupboard of Woodland Park; Cathy Skiles,
Children's Literacy Center; Diann Geoffroy, Assistance League; Velerie Bertoglio,
Assistance League; Amy Payne, Community Partnership Family Resource Center;
Amanda Rogers, CPCD; Terry Piddington, Diakonia. BACK ROW: Shelby
Kindell, Greccio Housing; Stacy Poore, Care and Share; Ken Hesselberg, Little
Chapel Food Pantry; Charles Schroeder, Help the Needy; John Tighe, REACH
Pikes Peak; Sarah Tremmel, Catholic Charities; Andy Barton, Catholic Charities;
Kathy Cefus, Community Partnership Family Resource Center.
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A Westside nonprofit that's new to the list this year ($2,000) was the Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, located at 2315 Bott Ave. The organization's efforts include supporting family members, who can be confused or overwhelmed when the disease strikes a loved one.
“We want to let folks know that we're here in the community,” said Barbara Caudle, the regional director. For more information, call 266-8773 or go to the website: alz.org/co.
For many years, the Osborne Drug Store was located where Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is now at 25th Street and Colorado Avenue. Osborne was a pharmacist and World War II veteran who helped start the Pikes Peak Bank of Commerce (later to become Pikes Peak National Bank) and the GoG Rotary itself.
Ute Pass is also within the Trust Fund boundaries because Bill and Betty owned a ranch in the Woodland Park area.
The Osbornes had no children. They died a few weeks apart (Betty, then Bill) in 1985. Bill Osborne's will left about $1 million to start the fund and detailed how it
Donna Sawaya has served on the board of the
Osborne Trust for 12 years, the last 9 as its chair. She is stepping down after
2016.
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One stipulation from the will was the establishment of a separate, volunteer Board of Trustees that would consist of past GoG Rotary presidents and review applications for grant funds. Donna Sawaya has served on that board for the past 12 years - the last 9 as its president.
She announced at the Oct. 25 award luncheon that this year is her last. “It's been a privilege to do this,” she said afterward, when asked how it's been. “Learning about what they do [the assistance agencies] has been a joy.”
Summing it up, she pointed to her heart. “It touches you here,” she said.
The new chair will be Martha Beatty, a board member for several years who has also been its administrator.
Those applying to the Osborne Trust must show how they provide their services within an area west of I-25, north to the El Paso County line, south across part of the Broadmoor area and west into Teller County. The window for applications is typically in the month of June. For more information, write to P.O. Box 6325, Colorado Springs 80934.
The following is a list of the 2016 recipients and services (starting with those based on the Westside, including their addresses; the rest are elsewhere in Colorado Springs, except as noted).
- Alzheimer's Association, 2315 Bott Ave., $2,000 (support for individual care-givers/families).
- Diakonia, at Westside Community Center (preschool for low-income), $5,400.
- Westside CARES, 2808 W. Colorado Ave., $27,300 (rent and pharmaceutical help).
- Assistance League of Colorado Springs, $6,000 (children's clothing).
- Care and Share, $3,000 (food for children).
- CASA of the Pikes Peak Region, $1,500 (child-advocate training). .
- Catholic Charities, $7,200 in two separate grants (one for its soup kitchen, the other for emergency services).
- Community Cupboard of Woodland Park, $2,000 (food assistance).
- Community of Caring, Cripple Creek, $12,000 (food and shelter).
- Community Partnership for Child Development, $2,000 (medical, dental).
- Community Partnership Family Resource Center, Divide, $5,000 (support to children).
- DayBreak Adult Day Program, Woodland Park, $1,000 (programs giving respite to care-givers).
- Greccio Housing, $1,000 (housing support).
- Habitat for Humanity of Teller County, $2,500 (training for families).
- Help the Needy, Woodland Park, $6,300 (emergency lodging).
- Little Chapel Food Pantry, Divide, $10,000 (food products).
- Multiple Sclerosis Alliance, $7,000 (medication and exercise).
- REACH Pikes Peak (formerly Pikes Peak Community Action Agency), $6,000 (emergency support).
- Reading Success Movement, $3,000 (children's literacy).
- Silver Key, $2,800 (food for seniors).
- TLC Pharmacy, $1,500 (medicine to needy).
Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 11/12/16;
Community:
Charitable)
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