Philanthropy

Chris and I have completed Ride the Rockies, a six- to seven-day, 450- to 550-mile bike ride through the many mountain passes of Colorado, two times. It is a challenging course, but the rewards are beautiful views and raising funds for a fantastic cause. 

Ride The Rockies is an event of The Denver Post Community Foundation, which serves to improve and enrich the lives of those in our community by raising and distributing funds to metro-area and Colorado nonprofit agencies serving the areas of arts, youth, education and human services. One $5,000 grant is awarded in each host community of Ride the Rockies to a deserving nonprofit. The Grant Program funds nonprofit organizations that provide services for low-income children and youth through recreation, education, or the arts and/or agencies that offer direct-service literacy programs. Since the program began in 2001, more than $585,000 has been granted to towns throughout the state.

My family committed to fundraise for Invest In Kids and compete in their annual Jane-A-Thon, which happened to be held in our on our favorite spots—the Mary Jane Resort in Winter Park, CO. The challenge was to ski 16 black diamond mogul runs in six hours (which meant the kids had to sit it out). While we couldn't walk properly for a few days afterwards, Chris and I did successfully complete the challenge and the fundraising.

The mission of Invest in Kids means a lot to the Raines family because it improves the health and well-being of vulnerable children and families throughout Colorado by providing much needed resources to low-income moms during time of very high need. Healthy pregnancies and healthy childhoods set up both moms and kids for success in life. Invest In Kids works with the Nurse Family Partnership and Incredible Years^® to connect vulnerable families to much needed resources during a high risk phase of life.

Chris and I raised funds and awareness by competing in the MS175 bike ride from Denver to Fort Collins. It is a two-day ride, the first day being 75 miles and the second day being a century ride of 100 miles. It was inspiring and emotional to see so many suffering with MS competing in the ride and supporting riders along the way. We have clients, family of our clients,  and friends and colleagues who suffer from this disease and we are proud to support the research to find a cure.

The MS Society of Colorado and Wyoming's vision is a world free of MS. Their mission is that people affected by MS can live their best lives as we stop MS in its tracks, restore what has been lost, and end MS forever.

Since 2009, I have been an active member of the Junior League, serving in Denver, Rhode Island, and Colorado Springs. As a board member of the Junior League of Colorado Springs, I have been able to participate in a number of great giving back initiatives and make lifetime friendships. The Junior League is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

Our family donates every year to support No Greater Sacrifice, which honors the sacrifices of our service members by investing in their children's capacity for greatness through education. NGS is dedicated to the children of our nation’s fallen and wounded service members, delivering scholarships and resources to improve their quality of life through the pursuit of higher education. NGS has committed more than $7 million in post-high school education benefits.

No Greater Sacrifice is a cause very close to our hearts with Chris having served 19 years in the Air Force and having seen first hand the results of children losing a parent to service. With two young children ourselves, our hearts go out to the kids who don’t get to have their parent because of the sacrifices made for our freedom.

My husband, Chris, and I attended a fundraiser for Greenhouse Scholars in Denver and heard the incredibly inspirational stories of underprivileged, gifted children achieving wonderful things. Children who were born into poverty, drugs, and addiction are being paired with mentors and earning full scholarships to college. The stories shared were moving, motivational ,and simply uplifting.

Greenhouse Scholars is catalyzing change in low-income communities by cultivating leaders and role models from those communities. Greenhouse Scholars’ vision is to create a community of leaders who will evolve the communities of the world. They work with the next generation of leaders and change agents, and together change the trajectory of their families, their communities, and broader global communities.