School Food Project announces community-wide fundraising challenge to help BVSD schools

The School Food Project, a public-private partnership dedicated to healthier school meals throughout Boulder Valley School District, announced this week a community-wide fundraising challenge to continue the positive momentum the three-year long program has initiated to improve school food in every BVSD school. The campaign’s goal is to raise $250,000 by May 15, 2011. A $100,000 fundraising match is already committed by the local nonprofit, Luff Family Foundation. The fundraising efforts, entitled “Healthy Bodies = Healthy Minds” campaign, will be housed online at a special crowd-sourcing site found by visiting www.bvsd.giveo.com.

Funds will support two projects that were already implemented in the current school year: completing the funding of the five new regional kitchens which make and distribute cooked-from-scratch meals and new green practices which replaced disposable serving items to 100 percent reusable plates, utensils, and trays in the cafeterias of all elementary schools plus one middle and one high school. To date, 50 percent of the funds necessary for these major improvements have been raised from community donations.

“We’ve made really good progress in our first 18 months of change,” said Chef Ann Cooper, BVSD director of nutrition services. “But we still have a lot of work to do to fulfill our goal of healthy, delicious food creating healthier bodies and minds for all BVSD school kids.”

Cooper, whose nonprofit, Food, Family, Farming (F3) foundation, just partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools” Coalition, has a vision for healthy school food across the nation. She believes Boulder Valley is a major case study for other school districts to follow in their own transition from highly-processed and unhealthy food to wholesome, more appetizing made-from-scratch food.

“Boulder is a bellwether community for the nation on so many levels – especially healthy lifestyle. We need to continue to invest in improvements so we can fulfill our three-year plan for healthier school food throughout BVSD,” said Cooper.

Parents might consider giving the value of a week’s worth of school lunches to the School Food Project at $15, a month’s worth of lunches at $60 or a year’s worth of lunches at $500.

“Every donation helps us meet our goal, and allows for continued improvement,” said Robin Luff, chair for the School Food Project and a long time community activist for educational initiatives.

To date BVSD transitioned every meal from highly-processed heat and serve to made-from-scratch recipes using fresh ingredients from local sources when possible. Every school in BVSD has a healthy salad bar and all cafeterias now serve organic, rBGH-free milk in bulk. Unhealthy ingredients such as, trans-fats and other hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives and coloring agents, and pre-fried, processed foods, have been eliminated from the BVSD lunch menu.

Individuals and businesses interested in making a donation to School Food Project can visit www.bvsd.giveo.com.

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About the School Food Project

Vision: All children of Boulder Valley School District will have daily access to fresh, flavorful and nutritious food made with wholesome and, when possible, local ingredients, so that every child may thrive.

Path of Beauty: Singing the Grand Canyon Collaborative Performance Experience

Song, soundscape, and visual imagery combine to offer audiences a
contemplative journey through the Grand Canyon

"Path of Beauty: Singing the Grand Canyon" with Sound Circle,
photographer Christopher Brown and guest artists
St. John's Episcopal Church, 1419 Pine St., Boulder
Dec. 10-12
7pm

"Path of Beauty: Singing the Grand Canyon" is a colloboration between Sound Circle, the 16-voice Boulder-based women's a cappella ensemble, photographer Christopher Brown and guest artists including Bonnie Carol playing hammered dulcimer, Southwestern singer/songwriter Becky Reardon, harpist Christine Tulis with percussionist Kem Stralka, and Tree Andrew playing Native American flute.



The program was premiered last May at the Broomfield Auditorium and is being repeated as a Solstice season offering based on the strength of audience response to the premiere. The goal of the performance, which is a continuous flow of song, soundscape, and visual imagery, is to offer the audience a contemplative journey through the Grand Canyon.

Christopher Brown's book, Path of Beauty: Photographic Adventures in the Grand Canyon, has just been published by St. Martin's Press. Many of the photos in the book are included in the performance.

Music by composers including Malcolm Dalglish, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Douglas, Kimmerjae Makarus, and Mary Ellen Childs, Becky Reardon, Joan Szymko, with poetry by Joy Harjo and others, will intertwine with improvisational material and soundscape.

Tickets are $20 for general admission, and $15 for seniors and children. To purchase tickets, gotobrownpapertickets.com/event/133234 or call 1-800-838-3006; or purchase at Boulder Body Wear, 2660 Canyon Blvd. in Boulder. Advance purchase is recommended.

For more information, contact Sound Circle at (303) 473-4525 or visit the Sound Circle website.

Comfort Dental provides free dental care on Care Day, Friday, December 24

All Comfort Dental offices will provide free dental care to anyone on Friday, December 24, through it's Care Day event.

Care Day will be at all Comfort Dental general dentistry offices (60+) throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri and Ohio. Offices will be open on December 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. See locations or call 1-877-330-7676.

Since 1984, Comfort Dental has offered free dental care on Christmas Eve Day. Care Day was started 27 years ago as a way of improving accessibility to dental care. On Care Day, all services are free to anyone. Patients are helped on a first-come, first-served basis, receiving a variety of basic dental care from cleanings to extractions. More serious dental problems are handled on a case-by-base basis and at the discretion of the individual dentist.

Approximately 200 Comfort Dental dentists and 1,200 staff members donate their time on Care Day. Last year on Care Day, Comfort Dental offices saw 3,200 patients and gave away $600,000 in free dental services. This year, the need is likely to be bigger based on economic conditions.

Since Care Day’s beginnings in 1984, Comfort Dental has given away $10 million in dental services. Last year, Governor Bill Ritter recognized Care Day. President and Founder, Dr. Rick Kushner says, "We provide free dental care to help people. If someone has a bad tooth, hopefully we can make them feel better. For some people, including kids, Care Day might be the only time they see a dentist all year. We’re dentists, so we give away dental services for the holidays. Care Day is one of the cornerstones of the company. According to Dr. Neil Norton, Vice President, "Due to the tough economy, we anticipate a record turn-out. In a typical year on Care Day, we average 2,000-3,000 patients, but last year was more than 3,000, and this year may be even bigger. There are a lot of families out there who just can’t afford dental care, and this is their only dental visit all year."

Together with the Children Participates in Colorado Gives Day, Dec. 8

Creating recreational environments for the emotional and social development in children, ages 3 to 6, from low-income families affected by violence

Together with the Children, through its sister organization in Puebla, Mexico, supports street involved children and their families to build positive futures away from the streets. To aid this work, TWC promotes the work of the Mexican office with financial assistance. TWC provide a vehicle for individuals and families to make tax-deductible cash donations to Together with the Children to make a real difference in the lives of children who truly need our help.

On December 8, Together with the Children teams up with Community First Foundation and FirstBank for Colorado Gives Day. When you donate online during the 24-hour period of December 8, the value of your donation will be increased by the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund--a pool of dollars created to increase donations made to nonprofits through GivingFirst.org. FirstBank contributed $250,000 as a lead gift to the fund, and additional dollars are being solicited from other Colorado businesses. The Incentive Fund will be proportionally allocated across all donations received on Colorado Gives Day, increasing the value of each individual gift.

Visit www.togetherwiththechildren.org and click on the GivingFirst link to make your donation in support of the day center in Puebla, Mexico for market working children.

Other organizations participating in Colorado Gives Day include the Colorado Chautauqua Association, the Boulder International Fringe Festival and more.

Celestial Seasonings® Brings the Sleepytime™ Bear to Life Online

Specialty Tea Leader Introduces a New Tea Time Ritual by Way of Social Media, Providing Escape and Calm for Tea Drinkers

The Celestial Seasonings® beloved Sleepytime® Bear is about to transform traditional tea time. With the help of social media, the Sleepytime Bear character will be brought to life – delivering inspiration, calm and community and establishing a new tea time ritual that is reflective of today’s realities.

On Wednesday, December 8 at 7 p.m. MST, Celestial Seasonings, Inc. will host a live launch party for its weekly “Tea Time with Sleepytime Bear” Twitter sessions at its Boulder, Colorado headquarters. Local bloggers and Sleepytime Bear himself will be in attendance to discuss their tea rituals (and the escape they provide) with Twitter users . The event will also introduce a new Celestial Seasonings tea variety, Sleepytime Decaf Lemon Jasmine Green Tea.

“My mantra, ‘Serenity in a cup, drink it up™,’ speaks directly to the unique ability of tea to help everyone relax and take a break for a few moments,” said Sleepytime Bear [mascot] of Celestial Seasonings. “I think of tea as ‘liquid wisdom’ and I’ve been creating and blending my own line of teas since 1972, so I have a considerable amount of wisdom to share and Twitter and Facebook offer the ideal medium, one that tea drinkers greatly value.”

The Sleepytime Bear recently launched his own Facebook page and Twitter handle to provide a destination for those seeking a respite from their everyday cares. His weekly “Tea Time with Sleepytime Bear” Twitter sessions will serve as an outlet through which tea drinkers can connect with others, share tips for finding calm and heed the inspirational wisdom and comforting humor of the Sleepytime Bear. The weekly hour-long Twitter sessions will take place every Tuesday at 1 p.m. MST beginning December 14.

“This new tea ritual combines the release and connections social media provides with the naturally calming and replenishing properties of tea,” said Peter Burns, General Manager of Celestial Seasonings. “Much like tea time, our iconic Sleepytime Bear has migrated from ‘sleepy’ to stylishly Zen as seen on the packaging of our newest Sleepytime tea varieties, so we’re excited to bring him to life via Twitter and Facebook to inspire tea drinkers everywhere.”

Each week, a different Celestial Seasonings tea will serve as “sponsor” for the Twitter “Tea Time” session, enabling online users to learn about the many all-natural varieties of Celestial Seasonings tea – including herbal, green, white, red, chai and wellness. Additionally, Celestial Seasonings will give away special tea gift packages to select “Tea Time” participants once a month.

Additional information is located at the Celestial Seasonings website, www.facebook.com/SleepytimeBearTea and www.twitter.com/SleepytimeBear.

Follow the launch party live Tweets by searching on the Twitter hashtag #CSTeaTime