DENVER — The Alsco Denver Central Stockroom branch of Alsco, Inc. recently donated $1,500 to the Butterfly Program (by Porter Hospital) on behalf of the Mountain Range High School DECA Club. The Alsco Denver Central Stockroom applied for and received a nonprofit grant through the Steiner Foundation, which Alsco created in 1969 to allow Alsco branches to become involved in and support nonprofit charities and projects in their communities.
The Mountain Range DECA students collaborated with the Butterfly Program to raise money for end-of-life care and services for terminally ill children. Kathleen Schaff, DECA club member and student at Mountain Range High School and daughter of Anita Schaff, a twenty-three-year Alsco Denver Central Stockroom employee, contacted Bob Motlong, Alsco Denver Central Stockroom general manager, to request a donation to the Butterfly Program.
“Our students are high school leaders and role models. They value and understand their role in society and are dedicated to the concept of social responsibility. Kathleen is a great example of reaching out in the community to help make a difference in the lives of others — in this case the lives of children,” said Hilary Wimmer, Mountain Range High School marketing teacher/DECA sponsor.
“We are grateful for Alsco’s donation and know it will have a positive impact on the Butterfly Program; it will continue to provide the pediatric palliative and comfort care needed for terminally ill children either at home or in the hospital,” said Karen Allund, Butterfly Program director.
“We are thrilled that we have been given the opportunity to be involved with not just one but two inspirational organizations — Mountain Range High School DECA Club and the Butterfly Program. We are honored to contribute and know that this donation will help provide the needed comfort and quality of life for children facing terminal illnesses,” said Bob Motlong, Alsco Denver Central Stockroom general manager.
About The Butterfly Program
The Butterfly Program is a partnership between Porter Hospice and Children's Hospital Colorado and provides pediatric palliative care to children and their families who are facing serious illnesses.
The Butterfly Program provides access to supportive services including nursing, social work, chaplaincy and expressive therapy while patients are receiving curative and therapeutic medical interventions aligned with their goals of care. The focus of the program is solely on the quality of life for the children and their families. Members of the program’s interdisciplinary team work with the children and families to identify specific goals in physical, psychiatric, psychological, social, spiritual, cultural, ethical and legal aspects of care. The interdisciplinary team includes the medical director, nurses, social workers, nondenominational chaplains, expressive therapists, bereavement counselors and volunteers. The Butterfly Program, originally founded by Children’s Hospital Colorado and Porter Hospice of Centura Health at Home, has filled a unique and relatively empty niche in the Denver metropolitan community since 1999.
About Mountain Range High School DECA Club
The Mountain Range High School DECA Club is for high school students who are interested in business or marketing. The purpose of DECA is to provide learning and leadership opportunities for students in marketing education fields to develop vocational and career competencies and to promote an understanding of and appreciation for the responsibilities of citizenship in our free enterprise system. In Colorado, DECA serves 6,300 students and the Mountain Range DECA Club is the largest chapter in Colorado and one of the largest chapters in the world.