Stay updated with breaking news from Star alex brown. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Shining Stars volunteer David Bach claps hands with children as they finish their runs during the Aspen Winter Games at Buttermilk on Thursday, March 5, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times) The Shining Stars Foundation hasn’t let a pandemic take away the magic of its recreational programs for kids experiencing cancer or another life-threatening illness. The Aspen-based nonprofit’s annual Winter Games at Buttermilk is on hold this year; COVID-19 caution precludes hosting the week-long adaptive sports event that draws more than 60 youth participants and nearly 200 staff, volunteers and family members to the mountain. But there have been a handful of outdoor, socially distant activities and more than 40 online events over the past year, according to Megan Nelson, director of development and operations at Shining Stars. Virtual trivia games, dance classes and build-your-own-slime nights if it sounds like fun, there’s a good chance they’ve tried it over Zoom. ....
We’ve all seen people on social media wishing 2020 away and hoping for a better year in 2021. However, I think there have been many bright spots. As a whole, we have learned that we are more resilient than we knew, more generous with our time and attention, and way luckier to be alive than we sometimes realized. I continued working even after the world shut down, photographing a different kind of daily life. I had the unique opportunity to watch firsthand what our little community looked like when it was a bit slower and quieter. Neighbors came together to wish a child happy birthday in a drive-by celebration, teachers tried to make their students feel like important rights of passage were still honored, and restaurants did their best to stay open and keep their employees at work. Things are different, of course, but while we miss large gatherings and seeing each other’s faces without masks, I have found that I am more grateful than ever that I get to live in the Roaring F ....