GoHawkeye celebrates it’s 10th Birthday
October 3, 2024By Hawkeye Johnson
In early 2013, Steve Hodges, Craig Stein and I were in Poachers bar and cafe discussing how we could make a greater impact in the world of adaptive sports. We were teaching adaptive skiing and bike riding to people with disabilities and had begun making inspiring and promotional films about these adaptive athletes. We were getting people hooked on these life changing sports but watched many struggle to afford the specialized equipment and the cost of lessons. We decided to start a non-profit foundation that would award financial grants for adaptive sports equipment and experiences. Scott Stuart became intrigued with our “conspiring” and got involved as did Tracy Holiday and Rube Felicelli.
We wanted to become a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit made up entirely of volunteers so we formed a board of directors. Rube came up with our name. Scott, Tracy and I hammered out the articles of our foundation and submitted them to the Colorado Secretary of State and the federal IRS. Finally in late September 2014, we were granted official non-profit status. I began using my fundraising skills combined with my personal adventures to raise money for the organization and Jan Newell joined on as our bookkeeper.
Our films have played in film festivals across the country. “Load Bearing” featured adaptive athletes backcountry skiing in Alaska. “Off the Hook” is a fishing and handcycling film about Jake O’Connor finding new freedom after a life changing accident, who now manufactures handcycles. Most recently, “Falling into Place,” where Danielle Watson is grateful and thriving in her new life as a paraplegic after surviving a fall of 300 feet . These films and more of our videos can be found HERE.
In our ten years, we are grateful to have helped 120 adaptive athletes and 10 adaptive organizations, from across the country, with financial grants totaling $375,000 for 37 different kinds of equipment and experiences. Our grantees range from 8 to 68 years old, with many disabilities, living in different states. Through our essay based grant application, we also identified nine different athletes that we felt were so inspiring that we agreed to help them raise the entire amount needed to finish their goals. Currently we are helping a local bus driver Brandon, who was injured in an ice climbing accident, to buy a sit ski. This effort is in addition to our regular bi-annual grant giving.
None of this would have been possible without the generous donations from our supporters. One way we raise funds is through our annual Pirate Party fundraiser. This event, held summer or winter, helps our grant program as well as a selected athlete who usually attends. Live music and a silent auction highlight this event but the most fun is dressing up like a pirate!
GoHawkeye is also committed to helping our community through the county Adopt-A-Trail program and supporting athletes through the local adaptive sports program.
It’s been a great ten years but there is more work to be done. We hope everyone will continue to donate to help adaptive athletes. Our bi-annual granting is May 1 and November 1 so it’s critical that we raise $50,000 each year. We are entirely volunteers and work from homes. Our overhead is extremely low, so 97% of your donation goes directly to helping adaptive athletes. Please consider a year end DONATION.
Portrait of Hawkeye on the trail. Watercolor by Mike Forrest.
