During this holiday season, we wish you and yours blessings and peace.

Your year-end gift will make it possible to continue offering our programs to thousands of urban children and youth who do not have the opportunity to connect with nature and farm life.  The animals at TUF depend on the generosity of people like you for their feed and health needs.

TUF is a 501(c)3 organization and your contribution is tax deductible.  Because we qualify under the Denver Enterprise Zone, donations over $500 are eligible for a Colorado tax credit. You can send contributions to:  The Urban Farm 10200 Smith Road Denver, Colorado 80239 or you can make contributions through PayPal by going to the donation page at www.theurbanfarm.org.

Thank you again for your support.  We always say that The Farm speaks for itself – so we hope you will visit us in 2011 to see for yourself the little miracles that occur here each day.

The Folks at The Urban Farm

The Urban Farm 2010 Programs & Stats

Hello Farm Families and Supporters,

Click here for our holiday fundraising request and a fact sheet on our programs and statistics.  I hope you will open the files and read this information.  All donations are deeply appreciated  and many of you have given several times this year.

If you are so disposed, please share this email with family and friends who might be in a position to provide financial support to The Urban Farm.   Some employers match their employee’s contributions to nonprofits and may be supportive of the work we do here at TUF.  We can provide financial documentation and our IRS determination letter for interested contributors.

However you may be able to help The Farm, we are so grateful for your participation and for the opportunity to work with your children.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you in 2011.

Donna Garnett, Executive Director

Looking for a special present for the horse lover in your life?

Wondering what to do with your Embracing Horses rider during that long 6 week break?

Been thinking how fun it would be to have a few grown-up riding lessons?

We have just the riding package for you.

Donna Garnett and Tennie Bell of The Urban Farm are offering a

Holiday Riding Package Special

$180 for 4 lessons (must purchase by 12/24/10).

Private lessons offered for children and youth from the ages of 5 through 18 and adults.  Lessons are provided on our horses and ponies at The Urban Farm at Stapleton and are one hour in length. Tack is provided but students must provide their own SEI approved helmet.  Appropriate riding clothes and boots are highly recommended.  Both instructors are certified riding instructors.

Contact Donna Garnett at dmgdenver@yahoo.com or call 720-810-5475.

Contact Tennie Bell at tennie.1@netzero.com or call 303-548-5340.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA:

Now on SALE! While supplies last–you can buy a book, authored by a friend of The Urban Farm. Makes a GREAT gift for any animal lover!

Caring for our Companions, Heroes & Best Friends
A Collection of Columns from the Greely Tribune
by Misti Aas

Discounted Holiday Price: $9.95 (shipping and handling is extra)

Buy Now, through PayPal!

Thursday. December 9th from 5:45 to 7:00 pm

Dear 4-H Members and Parents,

On behalf of The Urban Farm (TUF) 4-H club, it is our pleasure to invite you to a winter gathering with acquaintances, fuzzy, hairy, and somewhat in between — The TUF 4-H Winter Holiday Celebration.

This event shall take place at our next general 4-H meeting at the farm on Thursday. December 9th from 5:45 to 7:00 pm at the regular meeting place inside the building. There will be game and activities; little yummies and gummies for the grumbling little tummies; winter stories for the Cloverbuds; and important town cryin’ announcements for the upcoming year.

This event is also a dessert potluck and we’ll need you to keep our bellies from a- rumbling. Please bring anything from gingersnap cookies to pumpkin pie and anything in between.   We will provide hot chocolate and apple cider.  It would be ever so nice if you would provide utensils and containers for your food, for our kitchen supplies are not well stocked.  We also welcome your great ideas for fun, festive games and good seasonal jolliness.

Whatever the reason, it is going to be a great winter season, so plan to help us welcome it in with your presence at this winter holiday event.

Warm regards in this cold holiday season!,

Alexis Haynes,    Emma Gale,            Malia Mangham
(President)         (Vice President)       (Vice President)

Looking for something fun and educational to do with your kids?  Then 4-H is just the ticket.  Every Thursday evening from 5:30 – 6:45 pm through November, TUF is holding informational sessions for parents and kids to learn about the 4-H projects available at The Urban Farm.  Last week we spent an uproariously funny hour teaching lambs to walk on a leash!!!!  What a rodeo that was!  Join us for one or more of the sessions and find out about the many advantages to being a 4-H member at TUF.  Following is the schedule:

Nov. 4   Cloverbuds ( children 5 – 7 years old)
Nov.11   Non-livestock projects (e.g. shooting sports, gardening, photography, etc.)
Nov. 18  Large Livestock – Cows, pigs, horses
Dec. 2    Veterinary Science

TUF 4-H General Meeting

The November general 4-H meeting will be this Thursday (November 4) from 5:45 til 7:00 pm  Officer elections will be held.  All Farm participants are encouraged to participate in 4-H.  Plan to join us.  The Cloverbud informational session will be held at the same time.

In The Dark

We are literally in the dark – in our indoor arena.  Almost half of the huge lights in the indoor arena have burned out and we are teaching our evening Embracing Horses classes in a twilight setting. The replacement costs of each bulb is $258.  We need 12.  We have found a distributor who will sell us each light for $159.  Would you be willing to sponsor one big light bulb for the indoor arena?  If so, please send a check to The Urban Farm and make a notation in the memo line that you are sponsoring a light bulb.

Embracing Horses Winter/Spring Registration

Earlybird Registration forms will be sent out this week to all currently enrolled riders in Embracing Horses.  Forms and payment must be received no later than November 15 to ensure guaranteed enrollment and get the 12% earlybird discount.  Space is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

TUF Fundraising Committee Update

We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of 2010. Thanks to Kim Downing for facilitating the TUF Fundraising Committee.  Four subcommittees have been formed and your energy and expertise is needed on one of these committees.  Please contact Kim at kmangham@bigplanet.com to get more details as to how to be involved in helping TUF raise money to continue our programs.  The subcommittees are:

1. Small grant writing: This is something you can do from your own computer, on your own time.  It takes about 5-6 hours to complete and yields between $1,000 – $5,000.00.   We have the information you need to get started.
2. Large Grant writing: This takes 15-20 hours to write but the pay-offs are larger—anywhere from $5,000 – $30,000.00 (or more) These run about 4-8 pages long with 10-20 attachments.   Time is spent researching foundations and grants, and fine-tuning the grant application to fit the specifics of the organization we are requesting funds from.  A grant template has been developed.
3. Event planning: Several events – small and large – are planned.  These are projected to bring in from $7,000 to $15,000.
4. Sales of TUF Products: This can be anything from pony rides to birthday parties, garden plots, horse shows  and rental space.

Congratulations

Emma Gale, Alexis Haynes, and Malia Mangham had a great showing at last week’s Hunter/Jumper show at Hobby Horse Farm.  Three first place ribbons for Alexis and Doc, two seconds and a fifth for Emma and Gatan, and a first place ribbon for Malia and Bugsy.  Unfortunately, Bugsy stepped on Malia’s foot doing a bit of damage and resulting in her having to scratch from the remaining classes.

A $100 donation buys 20 bales of hay–enough to feed all the TUF animals for one day. Join the hay challenge today. Send a check or make a donation through Paypal now:

A big thank you to those who have already donated.

FARMFEST: SAVE THE DATE — September 18, local bands will play their music at The Urban Farm to raise money for TUF programs.  Gates open at 1:00 with activities for the kids; music is from 3:00 – 7:00.  Ticket prices range from $5 — $20, children under 5 are free. Silent auction items will include a Thanksgiving turkey, urban trail ride, birthday party at TUF, etc.  Contact austinsirus@yahoo.com for more information.  Bring your own lawn chair.

---

4-H@TUF — Kids from the Urban Farm just finished Adams County Fair last week.  As in past years, we will take a break from 4H meetings for the remainder of the month of August.  The next 4H meeting will be September 9 from 5:45 – 7:00 pm.  This will be an end of the year meeting mostly focused on wrapping up Fair.  The first meeting of the new 4H year will be October 7 from 5:45 – 7:00 pm. :: Click here to view the 4-H Meeting Calendar

• Perennials (herbs, ornamental, fruit, vines) and spring bulbs.
• 1 ton or ¾ ton newer model, road-worthy pick-up truck with no more than 150,000 miles on it (must have a towing package and class 4 hitch).  Children and animals will be passengers in this vehicle.
• Larger tractor with implements (eg. bucket, snow plow, rototiller, mower, harrow, etc).
• Sheets of plywood to repair animal shelters.  Need 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch plywood.  No particle board please.

TUF Kids, Parents, Friends of The Farm:

This Saturday, May 1st the TUF 4H club will be having their annual bake sale during Mulch Pickup.  The kids have asked that everyone provide homemade baked goods.  Last year they made almost $400 in about 3 hours. They could have made more but they ran out of baked goods.  All the funds are used to help pay the costs of participating in county fair in August.

The kids are requesting your help in preparing homemade goodies.  All items must be individually wrapped in plastic wrap or in a ziplock type baggie.

Please drop off your goodies by 6:00 pm tomorrow (Friday) or at the latest — 7:00 am on Saturday morning.  The Bake Sale starts at 7:30.

Kids and parents are needed to help with this event. Donations of coffee are appreciated as well.

Thank you on the kids behalf.

The Urban Farm gets a facelift. TUF held a spring cleanup weekend on April 10 and 11^th.  More than 130 volunteers showed up to clean, reorganize, and spruce up The Farm.  Rocky Mountain Excavation donated a full day of road grading and crowning to address water runoff and pot hole issues.  The new look from Sand Creek Trail is astonishing!  Thank you to all those who helped make a difference.

Chipoltle holds fundraiser for TUF and Feed Denver. April 11^th, friends and neighbors converged on Chipoltle in Stapleton for a delicious time of good food and lively conversation.  The restaurant donated half of the receipts from the evening to TUF and Feed Denver.  Well over a hundred people enjoyed the concept – eat dinner and help The Farm at the same time. Thanks Chipoltle.

28 school days till summer break! It’s not too late to sign up for summer workshops at The Urban Farm. TUF still has some morning workshop and evening class availability for children and youth ages 4 – 18 years. Offerings include Embracing Horses classes, Storybook Farm and I Want To Be A Farmer workshops.  Contact info@theurbanfarm.org or 303-307-9332 for more information.

Adults can take classes too! Adult riding classes are available.  Feed Denver is launching a series of classes on Urban Agriculture – class offerings include Culinary Herbs as Healing Herbs, Keeping Chickens in the City, Introduction to Permaculture, Fiber Arts, and others.  Online registration can be completed at www.FeedDenver.com.

Youth Corps teaches sustainable food production. — Recently, four youth were selected by Feed Denver at The Urban Farm to participate as part of a national Youth Corps to teach other kids about sustainable food production.  The kids have spent several months learning the Growing Power model being replicated at TUF (ie growing soil, vermicomposting, year round food production, aquaponics, etc) and are now going to other cities around the country helping schools and youth groups establish their own projects.  Over spring break the kids and TUF staff travelled to New Orleans to help establish an aquaponics project in the 9th ward.

Free Farm tours for Stapleton friends and neighbors. May 8^th between 9:00 and noon, Stapleton residents are invited to come over to The Farm for a free tour.  TUF Kids and adult volunteers will show people around the Farm – introducing them to the animals (we may have new lambs by then) and showing them around the gardens.

Summer Farm Market.  On May 8^th we will also launch a summer “farm market” which will be held each Saturday morning from 9:00 am till noon.  Fresh greens, fresh eggs, and other delectables will be available for purchase.  Pony rides for $5.00 will be available during the market.

Sunday, October 25th, 2009 • 1 pm – 3 pm

The following activities are free with gate admission:

Hay Rides

Fun with Farm Animals

Farm and Harvest Games

Paint the Farm Truck

and many more….

Activities are aimed at children 10 and under.

Gate Admission:

Children Under 2: Free

Adults and Children over 2: $5.00

Horse/Pony Rides: $5.00 / Per ride

Snacks and drinks available for purchase

Come enjoy the fun!

The Urban Farm is located at 10200 Smith Road,

just south of I-70 and west of Havana.

We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to teach agricultural and environmental education to urban youth and their families and your attendance helps support our program.

Don’t want an Art Lottery ticket?   We’re creating our own stimulus package!  Help us fight this recession by enjoying a fun, inexpensive night out.  Enjoy some great jazz, wine, good food and great company!  Ticket price now ****$20.00****!!

Tickets are available online at www.theurbanfarm.com or call Lisa at 303-501-9364
WHEN: SATURDAY, SEPT 26TH, 2009
WHERE: 200 SANTA FE DRIVE, DENVER, CO, 80223
View Larger Map

ART FOR THE ANIMALS is a Fundraiser to be held Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Denver Urban Homesteading.  All proceeds will help feed the animals at The Urban Farm. 

The Urban Farm is a 16-year old 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization providing direct programming for approximately 3,000 children a year to teach agricultural and environmental education to urban and at-risk youth and their families.  We do this by helping to create a sense of positive self-regard and self-reliance, a strong work ethic, and hope.  The underling value of The Urban Farm is that urban children will be exposed to the positive values of farm life-respect for the environment, appreciation for animals and plants, team spirit and the satisfaction of hard work leading to a job well done.  A side effect of The Urban Farm is that kids find a sense of belonging and independence, in short, a sense of community.

Don’t want an Art Lottery ticket? We’re creating our own stimulus package! Help us fight this recession by enjoying a fun, inexpensive night out. Enjoy some great jazz, wine, good food and great company! Ticket price now ****$20.00****!!

Tickets are available online at www.theurbanfarm.com or call Lisa at 303-501-9364

ART FOR THE ANIMALS is a Fundraiser to be held Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Denver Urban Homesteading. All proceeds will help feed the animals at The Urban Farm.

The Urban Farm is a 16-year old 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization providing direct programming for approximately 3,000 children a year to teach agricultural and environmental education to urban and at-risk youth and their families. We do this by helping to create a sense of positive self-regard and self-reliance, a strong work ethic, and hope. The underling value of The Urban Farm is that urban children will be exposed to the positive values of farm life-respect for the environment, appreciation for animals and plants, team spirit and the satisfaction of hard work leading to a job well done. A side effect of The Urban Farm is that kids find a sense of belonging and independence, in short, a sense of community.