Greetings!

In November, we celebrated our Big and Little Buddies at one of our most cherishedevents, the annual Buddy Program Celebration Dinner generously hosted by theCaribou Club and sponsored in part by Vectra Bank. At this event, we honor our LittleBuddies who are graduating high school with the Summit Awards, and we celebratemany of our partners with the Hero, Angel and Golden Carabiner Awards!Congratulations to:

Summit Award: Climary S., senior at AHS and her Big Buddy, Susie Patterson(matched for 10 years)Summit Award: Ghandi L., senior at BHS and his Big Buddy, Stu Curry (matched for 10 years)Summit Award: Morgan M., senior at AHS and her Big Buddy, Landen Saks (matched for 3 years)Hero Award: Linda Haydock, Counselor at Crystal River Elementary School inCarbondaleAngel Award: Deborah Daine, Board Member and founder of the YES! ArtProject that has raised over $100,000 over the yearsGolden Carabiner Award: Garfield County Public Health and Garfield CountyOutdoors for our partnership on providing our LEAD Programs in Rifle.

At the dinner, our Hero Awardee, Linda received her award and made some beautifulremarks that she has given permission for me to share with our wider audience. Shewrote, "The partnership with the Buddy Program is a true blessing to families! When astudent is referred to the Buddy Program it becomes part of that family's history andstory. I believe that we will never truly know the outcome of our interactions andexperiences but our responsibility is to become part of each other's story. Be a part ofrelationships that matter. Are true. Are honest. Are good." What better message for this time of year, than to remind us all that relationshipsmatter? And relationships that are true, honest and good are the most important ofall.

We value our relationship with you and wish you the very best this holiday season!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

Make a gift to the BuddyProgram today!

SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE!~Bash for the Buddies~

2020Friday, July 10th

Stay tuned for moreinformation

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWINGORGANIZATIONS FOR THEIR

SUPPORT THIS MONTH!

Lindsay LofaroExecutive Director

7th Annual Gingerbread House Workshops

Now at three locations: Gorsuch Ski & Café on Friday night for an open-to-the-public fundraiser on Friday Dec. 6, the Third Street Center in Carbondale onSaturday, Dec. 7, and The Little Nell on Sunday, Dec. 8, over 230 Big and LittleBuddies, guests and volunteers created 170 Gingerbread Houses under theexpert guidance of Helen Fifield. We extend a heartfelt thank you to our hostsHelen and Jim Fifield, Candice and Jeff Gorsuch, Karen Wing, and Gorsuch Ski &Café, the Third Street Center, The Little Nell, and to our donors and sponsorswho helped us raise over $112,00 in support of our year-round programs!

Thank You to All Who Sponsored This Year's Gingerbread House Workshops!

LEAD (Leadership through Exploration, Action and Discovery)

DECEMBERANNIVERSARIES

2009

Gandhy & Stewart Curry(pictured right)

2013Climary & Susan Patterson

(pictured left)

2014Vanessa & Laura Seay

2016Shelby & Camilla Cohen

2018Bryce & Ryan LathamJesus & Sean O'BryantJanette & Barb Wilson

STAY CONNECTED:

#buddyprogramRFV

Our High School Outdoor Leadership students started the month by researchingthe needs of their communities and began planning service projects to helpaddress some of these needs. Students from Basalt High School are volunteeringwith Habitat for Humanity and gathered supplies for holiday baskets forhomeless individuals in the valley. Students from Roaring Fork High School areeducating other students on the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol and alsoeducating people in Snowmass about how to prevent bears from becominghabituated by humans. Rifle High School students are helping to spread holidaycheer at the Veterans Nursing Home in Rifle by setting up decorations, gatheringover 100 cards from students at RHS, and interacting with the elderly who resideat the nursing home. Students at RHS are also baking goodies for the Rifle PoliceDepartment and the Colorado River Fire Department in Rifle. Next monthstudents will start their Wilderness First Aid training and certification courses! Middle School Outdoor Leadership students throughout the valley participatedin various team building, communication building, decision making, andleadership building activities during their lunch meetings with our LEAD staff.Middle School students are looking forward to snowshoeing trips and theirspring time outings to Sylvan Lake or Colorado National Monument!

CELEBRATION DINNER PARTY

Liz, left & Kealy, right

This year's annual Celebration Dinner Party for Buddies at the Caribou Club wasour largest ever with a total of 145 people in attendance! In addition to sharing agreat meal, Buddy Pairs enjoyed face painting, playing darts and blackjack, andtaking photos in the photo booth. After delighting in the decadent chocolatefountain, the Buddies tore it up on the dance floor! Thank you to the CaribouClub for generously hosting us again for such a fun and memorable evening!

LITTLE BUDDY WAITLIST

Name: Liz & Kealy Age: 12 &11 Live in: Basalt

Liz and Kealy are both very excited to be involved with the Buddy Program. Thegirls are chatty, playful and quick to open up to others. They have many friendsin the Program and love the idea of getting out in the community and trying newthings with their mentors. They are both big animal lovers and super creative.

Liz is very family oriented and wants to be a teacher or lawyer to help others.She likes to joke around and hopes to have a Big Buddy who is a jokester too. Lizreally looks forward to having a mentor to trust and share her life with.

Kealy is adventurous and hopes to travel to places like London, Paris, and NewYork City. She wants a Big Buddy who is energetic and spunky like she is. Kealycan't wait to have a new friend to talk to and be adventurous with. Contact Recruitment Manager, Laura Seay for more information on becoming aBig Buddy! LauraS@buddyprogram.org

NEW BUDDY PAIRS

Welcome to our newest pair, Maritza (left) and Anna Reynoso (right)!

The New Year is Coming!Get a head start on your New Year's Resolution and take

advantage of our special ONE DAY ONLY SALE for our Boogie's Buddy Race on July 4, 2020!

Registration will open January 1st with a one day only discounted race price of$30 for adults! Sign up on New Year's Day for the BEST price you'll see and get

your New Year's resolutions in order!

CLICK HERE to register on January 1st!