Volunteer Krystal Parish Receives Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award

Congratulations to our outstanding volunteer, Krystal Parish, for receiving the July 2023 Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award for her dedication and energy that she brings to Colorado Pet Pantry. This award celebrates volunteers in our community who make a difference, and recipients receive a $2,000 grant, to donate to the nonprofit of their choice. Thanks to Krystal and MYCVA, this grant will provide 400 dogs and cats with a 30-day supply of pet food.

Krystal has been a volunteer with Colorado Pet Pantry for over six years, and during this time, she has contributed significantly to our organization. Not only does she help fill “normal” CPP needs, like helping to distribute pet food at monthly pet food banks and transporting pet food, she regularly goes above and beyond to seek out fundraising opportunities and other ways to help the organization grow and continue to meet the rising need in the community.

Krystal is the main driving force behind our auction fundraisers and has contributed in making them very successful. She solicits and secures a large portion of the donated items that we put in our auctions and donates endless hours toward organizing and creating packages and gift baskets. She even works side gigs, like guest bartending at events and helping to bottle bourbon at a local distillery, in exchange for auctions items. She has proposed and executed many new and innovative ways to help us raise funds to feed pets.

Krystal volunteers monthly at our pet food bank in Conifer, with Mountain Resource Center. She participates in outreach events, and hauls truckloads of pet food to our pet food banks. Krystal also runs a mini pet food bank at her place of work – IKEA. Thanks to Krystal, Denver IKEA employees have their own spot to grab pet food and supplies when times are tight. She also creates and runs workplace fundraisers, like recycling cans, giving IKEA employees an easy and free way to help raise funds for Colorado Pet Pantry.

Krystal is quick to respond to any needs that pop up. When the East Troublesome Wildfire occurred in Grand County in 2020, she ran the emergency response and distributed pet food and supplies to those who lost or were displaced from their homes.

At the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award ceremony at our warehouse in Englewood on July 5th, members of the MYCVA Committee, Colorado Pet Pantry team members, and Krystal’s family, celebrated Krystal and her hard work and dedication to Colorado Pet Pantry. MYCVA Committee members shared the history and significance of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award and talked about Krystal’s contributions and dedication to Colorado Pet Pantry, and presented Krystal with the grant for $2,000 donated to Colorado Pet Pantry, a Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award Plaque, and a Proclamation from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s office.

To learn more about the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer award, please visit https://www.sparkthechangecolorado.org/mycva.html.


You are invited to Raise the Woof! Rooftop Party for a Cause

Below, we have created text for you to copy/paste and email to your friends so that you can easily invite them to our Raise the Woof! Rooftop Party for a Cause fundraiser. We really appreciate any and all networking you are willing to do. Thank you!

Dear Friend,

I would like to personally invite you to Raise the Woof! Rooftop Party for a Cause on August 26th, National Dog Day.

Tickets can be found here: https://givegrove.com/wooftop23/tickets/

This annual fundraising event means a lot to me because I have personally been involved in Colorado Pet Pantry. I have witnessed their pet food assistance program in action and the work that they do is vital to keeping our community pets in their homes and out of shelters. At this point in time, Colorado Pet Pantry is seeing record numbers for those who need help with pet food assistance. Animal shelters are maxed out, and pets need every chance possible to stay in their forever homes with the humans who love them. Colorado Pet Pantry has created such an efficient system, that they are able to feed a dog or a cat for an entire month with just a $5 donation. With the Raise the Woof! fundraiser, we hope to raise enough funds to feed thousands of additional pets in Colorado.

Tickets are on sale now for $125 (click here for tickets).

Here are the details:

  • August 26th, 5PM-10PM
  • X Denver Rooftop Club, 3100 Inca Street, Denver
  • Live Music from Slopeside
  • Hors D’oeuvres & Cocktails
  • Live and Silent Auctions 

I would be honored if you would accompany me, and also share this event with others – we are hoping to FILL the rooftop, and raise much needed funds so that we can help as many pets in the future as possible.

Thank you.