Warm fuzzies in the Cold Wind

It feels like summer slipped away from a lot of us in the plume of smoke from the High Park Fire, and we are reminded of the damage when we make our way into the canyons that were ravaged by one of the hottest fires ever to hit Northern Colorado. It was amazing to watch the community come together through fundraisers and land reparation efforts. We were so privileged to be a part of some like our progressive dinner Ashes to Ales , where Jax Fishhouse, Chef Happy, Wholefoods and almost 30 other supporters helped us to raise almost $3,500 for the NoCo Rebuilding Network.

We saved our July tip jar for the volunteer fire departments in both the Rist and Poudre canyons, raising over $2,500. Before the weather turned this fall, half of our fabulous co-workers made it deep into the Poudre Canyon to dig holes that would become the home for 550 Ponderosa Pines and local shrubs! Just over 30 of us donned augers, shovels and fencing and prepped the Narrows campgrounds for National Forest Day in mid-September. Poudre Wilderness Volunteers provided our skilled guides, they were ready with tools and hard-hats and helped to keep us on-task! Our second half was rained out at the end of September, and sadly for our third attempt as well. We may have to look at Spring to get the rest of our crew outside, but no shortage of things to do!

Just because the weather has shifted, don’t be fooled into thinking you have to hunker down inside! Join Odell Outreach for the United Way’s “Make a Difference Day” and help us to turn a volleyball court into a garden to grow healthy food for underprivileged community members (The Growing Project) and winterize the Alzheimer’s Association office grounds. Please visit our Odell Outreach Group page for details and to get signed up. These events will be complete with after-good-deed celebrations and some take-home goodies for our fabulous volunteers!

And don’t forget to visit our tap room! Every taster tray that you purchase is a gift for our distribution area in the form of beer for events, gifts for auction items, cash donations (Charities of the Month and Small Grants), etc.
Charities of the Month:
September:
• Foundation on Aging (Larimer County)
• Valley to Valley Senior care Center (Salida)
October:
• Athletes in Tandem (Fort Collins)
• Visually Impaired and Blind Skiers (Colorado Springs)
November:
• The Chill Foundation (Denver)
• Higher Ground Youth Challenge (Denver)
December:
• Feeding Our Community Ourselves (FoCo Café, Fort Collins)
• So All May Eat (SAME Café, Denver)
We also donate our tip jars, this month we are giving all of our tips to the Food Bank for Larimer County to purchase Thanksgiving meals for families in need. Next month we’ll represent Catholic Charities Northern providing holiday wish-list fulfillment for families that aren’t able to provide for them on their own. They touch the lives of both Christian and non-ecumenical clients.
We hosted our first ever Awesome Toss ‘Em Cornhole Tournament for Turning Point this August.  It was a great event enjoyed by all 250 players and fans in our East parking lot! We helped Turning Point raise $6,400! The summer also brought us an elegant beer pairing dinner at Gardens On Spring Creek’s Garden of Eatin’ when we had the opportunity to match our innovative brews with delicious pairings from Chef Justin from the Canyon Chophouse raising money for the “Friends of the Gardens on Spring Creek.”  Now as the weather changes, we are seeing a shift in charitable activities from fundraising concerts and golf tournaments to galas and holiday celebrations…

    
We just enjoyed 2 Odell tables at the “Brainiac Bowl,” one of the year’s most fun fun-draisers! It is a great event including dinner, Odell brews and trivia benefiting the brand new Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. We didn’t win, but tested our brain-power and I’m convinced both tables got smarter as 90 Shillings, IPAs and 5 Barrels were consumed! It definitely made us more excited to be a part of the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery’s grand opening! Odell Brewing Company is proud to be a part of the museum’s Founder’s Circle. Please join us on Saturday, November 10th in helping to fill the museum with the Front Range’s most curious!

Get your tickets for an amazing collaboration this Saturday for Fort Collins’ best and “most local” farm to fork dinner “Bounty and Brews” benefitting BeLocal. Keep an eye on our calendar to make sure you don’t miss some of the season’s best parties and ways to give back to our community!
Please check out our charitable page on our website and sign up to get involved with our volunteer efforts on our Odell Outreach Facebook page.  We work hard to better our community and celebrate OBC style!

 

Cheers!

– Karla

Karla is originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated from CSU 10 years ago and made Fort Collins her home. She has been given the extraordinary opportunity to work at making it a better place through her employment as Community Outreach Coordinator at Odell Brewing Company.