Aurora Warms the Night - Pizza in the Park
Lightshade team members gave away pizza in the park to help those experiencing homelessness and hunger in support of Aurora Warms the Night.
Lightshade educates the public about safe driving
Keeping our community safe is one of the highest priorities at Lightshade. That’s why we are working with CDOT to educate the public and learn more about the impact of cannabis on people’s ability to drive. We want not only to educate consumers about the dangers of driving high, but we also want to make sure the conversation isn’t skewed.
Head over to the Denver Westword to read more about the CDOT campaign and how Lightshade is helping out.
Aurora Warms the Night - National Count Day
Today is national count day where the country takes and official count of people experiencing homelessness. Lightshade had 75 pizzas delivered to feed 250 people experiencing homelessness in Aurora. Lightshade was recently introduced to an organization called Aurora Warms the Night. “Aurora Warms the Night (AWTN) shelters those experiencing homelessness in the winter when temperatures reach 20 degrees or colder. Year round services include meals, warm clothing, hygiene items, transportation to shelter, laundry vouchers, bus passes, partner agency referrals, and advocacy.” They are doing amazing work in Aurora. Lightshade was notified about count day today and was informed that they see a higher volume than normal of people who come to their daytime drop-in center. This places a significant strain on their resources and it is difficult for them to serve everyone. We were honored to be able to jump in where they needed us most to provide some meals.
Giving Back to Our Community at The Gathering Place
LIGHTSHADE BUDTENDERS DO MORE THAN JUST EDUCATE AND SERVE CANNABIS—THEY SERVE A MEAN LUNCH TOO!
At Lightshade we are committed to being an active and responsible community partner. Over the last few years, as Lightshade has grown, we’ve taken steps to work with organizations in each local community who share our values, goals, and vision for a better world.
One such organization is The Gathering Place.
From The Gathering Place:
“Founded in 1986, the Gathering Place is the only daytime drop-in center in metropolitan Denver that serves women, their children, and transgender individuals who are experiencing poverty, many of whom are also experiencing homelessness. While we refer to those we serve as ‘members’, no fees are ever charged for programs or services.”
Members of the Lightshade team recently spent a day volunteering at The Gathering Place, preparing and serving lunch for over 150 of their members. Like any good hosts, our team picked up the tab and did the dishes after food service!
Lightshade’s Marketing Assistant and Social Media Coordinator, Chelsi Munce, beautifully summarized the overwhelming sense of purpose and gratitude felt by the team, after spending time volunteering at TGP, saying…
“The Gathering Place opened my eyes to how much help women living in poverty need, and the lengths TGP goes to accommodate those needs. The entire Lightshade crew was so happy to help out and make lunch for everyone! After experiencing a full tour of The Gathering Place, the Lightshade team was overcome with emotion at the generosity provided by this center and how much our contribution matters to the improvement of multiple women and children’s lives.”
At Lightshade, it is our belief that doing good feels great. We take pride in our commitment to give back to the community and hope that our efforts, and the efforts of our team, inspire others to follow suit. We created our Corporate Cannabis Social Responsibility program for this purpose—as a method to organize and institutionalize the Lightshade commitment to giving back.
Jump below for a handful of photos and a video from our day of giving at The Gathering Place. If you are interested in learning more about The Gathering Place, or would like to get involved with this outstanding organization, please visit the site below.
2017 Adopt-a-Family Holiday Giving
Lightshade adopted 9 families from the Colorado Homeless Families organization. Each of the 8 stores and the Brooks family adopted a family who provided a wish list of items that they needed (like socks, coats, gloves, hats, work clothes, etc.) and also small items that would like to have for Christmas. The families range in size from 2-7 people and many of them are refugee families. Lightshade provided each store with wrapping supplies as well as a gift card for families with a budget of $125-150 per family member. The staff members from each store worked together to maximize their respective budgets and shop for the families to try to purchase as many items from their lists as possible. The staff then wrapped the gifts and delivered them to the CHF subsidized housing facility.
Senior Support Services Holiday Party
On Saturday, December 16th, at Senior Support Services’ annual holiday party, volunteers from Lightshade served food to senior citizens in need. We will also be providing 250 sets of hand and foot warmers, as well as under-garments, to each of their clients. Our goal was to help keep Denver’s less fortunate seniors warm and fed throughout this holiday season.
Lightshade Volunteers at The Gathering Place
Continuing our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, Lightshade recently volunteered for the meal sponsorship program at The Gathering Place in Denver. The Gathering Place offers support to women, their children and transgender individuals who are experiencing poverty or homelessness.
Lightshade staff members, including the owners, prepped and served lunch to The Gathering Place members on Monday, November 6. It was a great experience to help such an inspiring organization. A big thank you to The Gathering Place for having us!
Learn more about Lightshade’s ongoing CSR initiative.
Teaming up with Project Worthmore and Denver Urban Gardens
Here at Lightshade, we are extremely passionate about our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. We aim to remain active in the Denver community through volunteering and working with various organizations like The Gathering Place and most recently, Project Worthmore and Denver Urban Gardens. Last week, members of Lightshade and kindColorado volunteered at Delany Community Farm.
Delaney Community Farm is a partnership between Denver Urban Gardens and Project Worthmore. It is a 5-acre farm that provides refugees access to farming, healthy food and a community here in Denver. Their mission is to “support refugees from the local community through community-based food security programs.”
We pulled weeds, harvested vegetables, prepared the farm for winter, as well as sorted and packaged harvested vegetables and herbs. This is our second time volunteering with Delany Community Farm and we couldn’t have been more thrilled to be back. Thank you to Denver Urban Gardens and Project Worthmore for having us!
You can read more about our CSR initiative here and more of our work with Delaney Community Farm.
https://vimeo.com/236140382
Lightshade Volunteers at DeLaney Community Farm
As a part of Lightshade’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, we aim to remain active in our community. Members of the Lightshade CSR Team, with representatives from each retail location, recently volunteered at DeLaney Community Farm to help weed and get the fields ready for planting.
DeLaney Community Farm, operated by a partnership between Denver Urban Gardens and Project Worthmore, has a mission of supporting refugees residing in the local community through food-based programs. Lightshade’s volunteers worked alongside immigrants from Burma, Senegal and Afghanistan, as part of the farm’s program to connect refugees to the local fresh food economy and teach sustainable agricultural practices.
We love being a part of the Denver Metro community and having the opportunity to give back through positive programs. Lightshade is proud of their team’s willingness to get their hands dirty and make a difference. Stay posted on more from our CSR Team to come!
Lightshade Gives Back
Giving back to the community has always been important to Lightshade. As a part of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, we aim to limit our effects on the environment and remain active in our community.
Lightshade is in the process of testing high-efficiency LED lights and building a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility to reduce our carbon footprint. We continue to facilitate recycling programs at each retail location and in our cultivation facilities within compliance regulations. In addition, Lightshade uses organic-based pest control methods and makes their own organic nutrients, which are used in each cultivation facility. We maximize watering efficiencies by using capillary mats and as a result, very little water is wasted.
Although Lightshade works hard to help out the local community, some non-profit organizations are hesitant to work with cannabis-related businesses. Since cannabis is still illegal from a federal standpoint, some nonprofits are concerned about losing their 501c3 status or federal grant funding by working with cannabis industry partners. Additionally, some of the companies’ partners, board members or financial supporters may not look favorably on the cannabis industry.
Despite some hurdles, Lightshade is ahead of the industry in creating a CSR program that started in the fall of 2016. We have engaged our employees to form a CSR Team with representatives from each retail location and created a two-tier program to support hyper-local initiatives, as well as one or two larger corporate initiatives year-round. Lightshade’s current focus is to make an impact on combating hunger and homelessness.
Lightshade is working with Kind Colorado to determine the best fit for supporting local organizations such as volunteering at food banks, building urban gardens or working with veterans. Lightshade has supported The Gathering Place to provide funding and food and toiletry drives for homeless women and children. We are also sponsoring Manny’s SummerFest on May 20th, a fundraising event for Senior Support Services, which provides food and services for homeless seniors.
We greatly appreciate the continued business from so many loyal customers that help us in supporting our local community. Lightshade is building a corporate culture of giving back and creating a framework that provides our employees with opportunities to understand how important it is to give back to the communities that we serve. Stay tuned for more information on upcoming causes and how you can help make a difference!