Conscious Real Estate Donates to Colorado Mountain Club

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Adventure!

That’s what I often hear when people are asked why they moved to Colorado. There is so much of it, but truly

one of the greatest adventures is exploring the mountains. It’s long been a thought of Coloradoans and in 1912, the Colorado Mountain Club officially began as an organization dedicated to service and protection of the wilderness and love of hiking the wild outdoors.

Flashback… Hiking in 1912

Let’s just say that these hikers were nothing short of… well, bad-ass (can we say that?). Yes, they sure were. Women and men alike got their hike on with spikes, poles and wool gear. Big change from our moisture wick and poly for arctic hikes and sturdy, yet light summer gear now. Early Colorado Mountain Club leisure adventurers could be imagined in either of these early hiking pictures.

 

Early hikers broadened the outdoor activity and brought awareness and education to the botany and fauna of the land. As a group activity, it was one that encouraged teamwork and also seemed to ignore the fact that so many physical activities were limited to one or the other of the sexes. Many hiking groups were blind except to ability and the sense of adventure.

Since Then…

The Colorado Mountain Club started with 25 service-minded, outdoor oriented people gathered in Denver. James Grafton Rogers was the first President of the club and their very first outing was to Denver’s Cheesman Park, which was was a bit more natural and a lot less urban at the time. Can you just imagine? Their first official “mountain” trip was a hike to the top of South Boulder Peak.

 

The Club grew rapidly and many of its members became the first to climb all of Colorado’s known 14,000-foot peaks. Thus, starting the trend to climb alllllllll the 14-er’s as we call them for short now.

 

And, the Colorado Mountain Club has expanded outside of the U.S. to offer adventure trips. The next ones? Switzerland! Slovenia! Portugal! Nepal! Mexico! New Zealand! Yes. It’s incredible how many amazing hiking trips you can go on through the club. You can also stay semi-local by checking out their “ancient ruins” Utah trip and Bryce Canyon adventures. Today, the club runs over 3,000 activities and trips a year. That’s a lot of smiles, a lot of comradery and lot of nature-lovin’ which we are SO into. Huge thanks to this organization.

 

Passionate About Hiking and the Environment (In the News)

So as we’ve mentioned, we’re totally all about adventure, nature, Colorado and exploring the world. AND, we are huge into protecting the environment. It’s another reason why we love this organization so much.

The Club and it’s volunteers have influenced environmental issues since 1921 when the club spoke out against a proposal that threatened National Parks. They also helped work with area leaders in establishing the Rocky Mountain National Park.

In later years, they worked towards advocating against new dam construction, timber sales and water diversions. Further, in the 40’s and 50’s, they went on a tree planting mission. Today, they continue their conservation efforts through policy advocacy, trail maintenance, their backcountry snowsports initiative, snow preservation, and keeping public land public!

 

Why Donations Are Greatly Needed & How Conscious Real Estate Helps

There couldn’t be a greater need than now to protect the Earth and public lands designated as natural areas. At Conscious Real Estate, we donate 10% of our own commission from every home sale to a nonprofit of our clients’ choice.

Allison Parks, Founding Broker of Conscious Real Estate presents her donation to Colorado Mountain Club

We couldn’t have been more proud to have been able to donate to the Colorado Mountain Club. Here’s Conscious Real Estate founder, Allison Parks, proudly delivering the check to the club. Interested in working with us? Or, are you a Denver-area professional that wants to connect? Click here to send us a note. We look forward to hearing from you!

An Open Letter to My Non-Profit Colleagues

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Greetings Nonprofiteers!

We all know that a strong and vibrant community makes real differences in real lives. That’s why your work to build, sustain, and strengthen our common fabric provides lasting inspiration well beyond the walls of your organizations.

As the owner of Conscious Real Estate – the premier Denver residential real estate brokerage that gives back to our community – I sought to develop brokerage that followed this example.

That’s why Conscious Real Estate, as a standard practice, donates 10% of every commission to a nonprofit of our client’s choice.

Through our work, I have met many of you, donated to some, and endeavor to take common cause with all your efforts.

We here at Conscious Real Estate are grateful to have had the opportunity to do this work over the past three years and watch your organizations grow and flourish. At the same time, we are dismayed by the obvious headwinds facing nonprofits in 2017 and beyond. With that in mind, Conscious Real Estate is committed to redoubling our efforts to sustain your vital role in our community.

A bit about how our brokerage works: When a Client purchases or sells a home through a Conscious Real Estate agent, the Client chooses a non-profit to which we donate 10% of the sale commission. While Conscious is exclusively a residential broker, we facilitate a similar arrangement for commercial real estate transactions through a partner broker, Forte Commercial Real Estate. Put another way – the more we grow, the more we give.

Allison Parks (Conscious Real Estate Founder, left) with Tiana Nelson (President and Chief Operating Officer, PawsCo)

So what are the results so far? In 2016, our average donation per transaction was well over $1000. This is real money for real organizations providing support and development to real communities – our community.

While we have received extremely positive feedback about the impact we have made thus far – feedback that we treasure – we still have significant work ahead of us. Our efforts to continue supporting you rely on your generous referral of Conscious Real Estate to your friends, family, and supporters. At the same time, we know that since your hands are always busy and your time is always short, you can’t regularly engage with Conscious to learn about the work we do.

In our heartfelt effort to keep an open line with our non-profit friends, we created this (occasional) newsletter just for non-profits to speak to only your needs. Through this forum, we seek to establish a tighter bond with you so you know the initiatives we pursue to support your work.

With this newsletter, we will include a toolbox for you that will include pre-written social media posts, pre-written newsletter blurbs, and ways that you can mention us to your supporters. We can also provide fliers, business cards, and other collateral to assist in your outreach efforts. Also, since this is a collaborative effort, we look forward to your feedback about the trends in the non-profit world and how your organizations can best be supported.

Finally – if we haven’t met – let’s meet! Please don’t hesitate to contact me through telephone, text, tweet, or smoke signal. I’d love to make your acquaintance. Again, I truly appreciate everything you do for our community and that’s why I created a business to help support you.

After all, you support our community – and that supports us all.

 

Warm regards,

Allison Parks

Conscious Real Estate Donates to Denver Dumb Friends League

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As part of our core company values, each of our agents donates 10% of their own personal commission to a nonprofit of their client’s choosing. Conscious Real Estate broker Kimberly McAleenan recently had the pleasure of delivering a check to the Denver Dumb Friends League.

As one of the oldest and most widely recognized nonprofits serving animals (and animal lovers), one can expect a top-notch organization focused on reducing animal homelessness, placing adoptable animals in furr-ever homes (see what we did there?), and working with local vets to provide vaccinations and medical services.

So, in this post, we’re sharing some of the unique things you may have not known about this long-standing nonprofit.    

Some things you may not know? Well, cats and dogs are not the only adoptable animals. In fact, the Denver Dumb Friends League has an entire equine department including adoptions, camps, classes, horse rehabilitation facilities and more. Their programs for youths are empowering and teach empathy and responsibility. And, their adoption and rehabilitation programs help horses find “greener pastures” after their youth in the workplace or racetrack.

The DDFL also has an entirely robust small mammal adoption program. Here, individuals and families can browse through pages of pet rats (with and without hair), bunnies of all breeds, mice and guinea pigs. And, while “typical” kitties and pups are also available, the organization even separates “working cats” for cats who are more inclined to the outdoors, specifically as “mousers.”

Another important part of the Denver Dumb Friends League’s mission is to investigate abuse claims.

In very recent Colorado news, the Denver Dumb Friends League has participated in several investigations. In one such Denver case, a dog was shot during a burglary. Polo, the assaulted 12-year-old Labrador Retriever, received injuries costing the family over $13,000.

While the authorities were relieved the family was safe, organizations like the DDFL point out that: “studies show that people who intentionally harm animals may be more likely to commit violent crimes towards people. By taking the time to report what you observe, you’ll not only be helping the animal involved, you’ll be helping prevent future crimes and promoting respect for all life.”

In response to the crime, DDFL has partnered with the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers to offer a $7,000 for information leading to an arrest in the crime.

In another case out of Fremont, Colorado, an investigation by the DDFL, the Colorado Humane Society and local authorities led to the seizure of 63 horses. In reports, the authorities first noticed a lack of food and water. Anna Blake, a board member of the Colorado Horse Rescue said, “We’re very concerned about those horses. It didn’t happen fast, it’s a consistent lack of care over a period of time.”

“One of the phrases that was used in the court was ‘walking dead,’ and this is not thin, this is near death,” Blake said.

And for dearly loved “dumb” friends, they offer end of life support and guardianship.

During your pet’s lifetime, the Denver Dumb Friends League offers behavioral assistance and training referrals (in addition to basic medical services like neuter/spay). And when it gets closer to rainbow bridge time, they offer end of life services such as euthanasia, cremation and interment at the Sheilagh R. Malo Pet Memorial Garde. No one likes to think about this part, but it’s important to know that when you have a friend at Denver Dumb Friends League when the time comes. And, their end of life services are affordable, at $70.

For the unfortunate times that an owner precedes their pet in passing, the DDFL also offers guardianship where they become the legal guardian of the animal. Pets in this program are placed not in a shelter, but in a loving foster family home while the DDFL works diligently for a forever home.

The Denver Dumb Friends League makes life better.

Everyone knows life is better with a dog/cat/bird/lizard/bunny… right??? Well, we sure think so at least, and so do our clients. We love donating to this fantastic organization because they do amazing things like end pet homelessness and human loneliness. We also get excited when we hear stories like the recent acquisition of 79 dogs from Texas into the Denver Dumb Friends League program. Ready for a paw-fect pal? Check out adoptions or attend an event.

Wanting to make a difference and donate a large sum (without doing a thing)? Then, send us a referral for a friend or colleague who might be looking for a home in the Denver area, or contact us here if that person is you! We look forward to hearing from you and even more to the day we get to present the check to your favorite charity. (!!!!)

Conscious Real Estate Broker Kimberly McAleenan (left) presents donation to Denver Dumb Friends League