New film kicks off Colorado's 150th anniversary, celebrates spirit of giving
There are many things that make Colorado special, but when the creators of a new film celebrating the state's 150th anniversary set out to capture the essence of our state, they found it not in the place but the people.
They say Coloradans show up in times of hardship, step up without being asked, and lift up those around them.
"We're trying to hold up and highlight the good that people do every day. They do it today, they did it 100 years ago. And it's our hope that we're doing it in 100 years' time," says Kyle Hybl, CEO and President of El Pomar Foundation.
El Pomar, The Anschutz Foundation, Boettcher Foundation, Adolph Coors Foundation, and Daniels Fund collaborated on the film.
It provides a window into the vast impact of philanthropists like Bill Daniels, Spencer and Julie Penrose, and the Boettcher family. Their extraordinary generosity has touched countless lives like Katie Kramer's: "When you are the receiver, it makes you want to be the giver."
She was the recipient of a Boettcher scholarship when she graduated from high school.
Today, Kramer is the President and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation, which has provided scholarships to 3,000 kids.
"I think recognizing that no one does it alone and that there's a responsibility to pay it forward is a great model of generosity for all of us in the state," said Kramer. "It's our opportunity and our obligation to pay it forward."
Spencer and Julie Penrose have paid it forward for 90 years. Their foundation, El Pomar, has not only funded the creation of iconic places like the Broadmoor, Hybl says, but it's also provided $700 million in funding to nonprofits across the state.
"There are so many ways that their setting up this foundation has cascaded and made an impact in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people," said Hybl.
Many of those people they will never know. Their kindness and compassion - like that of Bill Daniels - spans generations. The Daniels Fund has given more than $1.5 billion, helping everyone from disadvantaged kids to aging Coloradans and those struggling with addiction.
"I think his impact was at scale, his heart was one person at a time, " says Daniels Fund President and CEO Hanna Skandera.
She says Bill Daniels embodies the spirit of giving that is - and always has been - part of Colorado's DNA.
"Bill Daniels inspires me every day because he really did carry heart first, and I think one of the charges to me when I think about our state is how do we carry heart first going forward. Colorado 150 is an opportunity to celebrate our history and challenge ourselves with what we want our future to look like."
A sentiment echoed by Hybl, "Everyone has an obligation to be in service to his or her community."
"It could be helping someone across the street," said Hybl.
"All you've got to do is raise your hand, and we'll put you to work," says Kramer.
Skandera hopes the film inspires Coloradans across the state to give back, "Open your eyes and look around because there are so many needs. We have so much to offer, how are we giving it, and how are we paying it forward so it is producing a future that is even better than the past."