It Matters To Me

How does community and faith intersect with homelessness? Ian Stitt is the Executive Director of Network Coffeehouse and through his work, he shows how it can offer an alternative to individualism, greed, exclusivity, and the debilitating loneliness that seems to plague every corner of our world Additional Links Network Coffeehouse (Website): ⁠https://www.networkcoffeehouse.org/ Network Coffeehous...

For children with medical conditions that require complexmedical devices, it can be hard to feel like they fit in. Kay Newman created KiddoDitto to fix that and with her beautifully designed replicas that mirror each child and their medical needs, she’s helping them have the loving experience they all deserve. Additional Links KiddoDitto (Website): https://www.kiddoditto.org/ It Matters To Me (Ins...

What does it mean to be Jewish in this moment? Rabbi Menachem director of the Jewish Outreach Initiative, a program nestled under the non-profit organization, Aish of the Rockies, helps people answer that question for themselves. Additional Links Jewish Outreach Initiative (Website): https://www.joidenver.com/ Jewish Outreach Initiative (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/joidenver Jewish Outre...

The bathroom is often the most private part of any home. But what if you don’t have a home? Showers For All, and its founder, Jenn Kloeppel, can’t give every person they serve their own home with their own bathroom but what they can offer to those living on the streets in Denver is a chance to take a shower and do their laundry for anyone who is struggling with homelessness and poverty. Additional...

Stewardship goes further than just picking up trash. Becca Schild and the non-profit she leads, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, makes sure it’s a community driven event that nourishes not just the Roaring For Valley but also the people who give their time and energy. Additional Links Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (Website): https://www.rfov.org/ Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (Instagram): http...

Colorado’s fourteeners don’t maintain themselves you know. Brian Sargeant and the rest of the grew that makeup Colorado Fourteeners Initiative help ensure these towering peaks are here for generations to come through trail stewardship and public education. Additional Links Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (Website): https://www.14ers.org/ Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (Instagram): https://www.ins...

Founded in Aspen, Colorado in January 2013, Huts For Vets provides at no cost to participants, wilderness and communal experiences as therapeutic healing for U.S. veterans and active-duty service members. Erik Villasenor is their Executive Director and being an Army veteran himself with combat deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan, he was once a participant at a retreat before stepping into the...

Back on My Feet bridges the gap between emergency resources and self-sufficiency to truly help someone recover from homelessness, addiction, and often both. They empower members to break free from those cycles through the unrelenting power of fitness, community support, and employment resources. Additional Links Back on My Feet (Website): https://backonmyfeet.org/ Back on My Feet (Instagram): http...

Climate change... a topic we're all too familiar with but still have so much to learn about. Aspire Adventure Running organizes single and multi-day running adventures across Cascadia and Northern California. This year, they hosted their first Climate Summit to bring together professionals from all walks of life to discuss current research, technologies, and trends in this ongoing debate. Addi...

She has a runner’s body. It is also a body that lost 200lbs and has run 100-mile ultras and climbed mountains. All after enduring years of mistreatment from overeating, undereating, binge eating and no eating. Callie Vinson is an ultra-runner and advocate for body diversity and inclusivity within outdoor sports. She shares her deeply personal story in hopes it’ll inspire you to think twice about w...

Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Claire took her passion for skiing to the next level when she co-founded SheJumps alongside the professional freeskier, Lynsey Dyer and journalist, Vanessa Pierce in 2007. Since then, SheJumps has created over 46,000 opportunities for women and girls to get outside by offering a variety of outdoor activities ranging from wilderness survival and mountaineeri...

Sexual assault and Type 2 Diabetes are hard enough to process on their own but combined, they can be almost insurmountable. Sydney Williams navigated her way through those experiences on a hike across the Trans-Catalina Trail and is now helping others do the same through her 501c3, Hiking My Feelings. Additional Links Hiking My Feelings (Website): https://hikingmyfeelings.org/ Hiking My Feelings (...

They might be younger, faster, or have a bigger engine.... but you can Suffer Better. Peter Downing and Bob Africa are using Suffer Better to tap the inexhaustible commitment of the endurance athlete community to preserve and protect our natural environment while improving local communities. Additional Links Suffer Better (Website): https://sufferbetter.com/about Suffer Better (Instagram): https:/...

“I think anyone will have their own definition of what that means to them and I think for me and for Rising Hearts it really embodies, you know, the passion and the commitment to what you love and care about the most that truly makes it the work that’s coming from the heart.”  Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show where we highlight people working alongsid...

“Basically what we’re doing is trying to bridge this gap. We know the problems of climate change, we know the solutions, and what’s going to connect those two is community. It’s people." Welcome everyone to another episode of the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show that seeks out individuals dedicating their time and energy to non-profit causes that are bigger than themselves and the motivations...

“That’s really become my focus, that’s what I like to think of my niche, my differentiator on Youtube is I’m taking viewers to places they maybe forget having been but maybe never would’ve thought of going to.” Welcome everyone to another episode of the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show that seeks out the passions in all of our lives and the motivations behind why we pursue them. Today I have the o...

“My promise to my readers is I’m going to be honest and I’m going to be fair and when we’re explaining the issue at the top, like I will be as neutral and balanced in that section as I can.” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show that seeks out the passions in all of our lives and the motivations behind why we pursue them. Joining me on this episode is Isaac Saul, the voice and c...

“Some of the most meaningful… some of the most emotional things I’ve experienced as an RD [Hardrock Run Director] has been standing at the finish line and what kissing that rock means to people.” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show that seeks out the passions in all of our lives and the motivations behind why we pursue them. With me on this episode is Dale Garland, Race Direct...

“When we’re able to step into the shoes of that person who’s struggling, people start to open their minds about what their willing to allow to be an ok answer to helping those people and I think psychedelic healing is really starting to jump into that lane and into the driver seat.” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show seeks out the passions in all of our lives and the motivati...

“The people that you share the experience with and the land that you are traversing are really the two most important things and how they make you feel.” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast , a show that seeks out the passions in all of our lives and the motivations behind why we pursue them. Today, my guest is Rickey Gates, professional runner and writer whose most recent book, Cross...

“Mental health is not a destination, it’s a journey. You know, it’s continuous work.” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast , a show seeks out the passions in all of our lives and the motivations behind why we pursue them. Today, my guest is Jennings Hester, founder of Fishing The Good Fight, a non-profit that helps Colorado men overcome depression, anxiety, and substance abuse through...

“We’re going to pay for you to go to mortuary school so you can be a licensed funeral director in the state of Oklahoma” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast , a show that celebrates the random through 1-on-1 conversations with people and the passions they pursue. Today, my guest is Rick Farbro, founder of Green Country Arbor Services in Tulsa Oklahoma, and just an authentic and hilari...

“To hear that there were people out there that were willing to help me out and willing to take care of me and give me everything that I needed to try and get better, that was life changing.”  Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show that celebrates the random through 1-on-1 conversations with people and the passions they pursue.  Today, my guest is Zach Riggle, former U.S...

“I told him, like, when I saw Everest, I said ‘Oh it doesn’t look so high!’” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast , a show that celebrates the random through 1-on-1 conversations with people and the passions they pursue. Chances are you’ve probably heard of Mt. Everest and know that summiting it can be the pinnacle of any climber’s career. But did you know that Everest is just one of 1...

“As a columnist, there aren’t a lot of people telling me what to do.” Welcome everyone to the It Matters To Me Podcast , a show that celebrates the random through 1-on-1 conversations with people and the passions they pursue. My guest today is Steve Lopez, columnist for the LA times where he’s won dozens of national journalism awards and author of three novels but is here to talk about his newest...