Pasta for a cause

By Tina Matthew
For the Courant
Summer vacation begins for Clear Creek County students on May 17, and while most students are focused on leaving the studying at school, several are preparing for a summer education program called Get Outside and Learn Something, or GOALS.
The first learning opportunity takes place as students raise a third of the cost of the program, which ranges from $180 to $300. Several students from Carlson Elementary and from Clear Creek Middle School are going on rafting trips through GOALS.
Teaching them the responsibilities involved in raising funds was one of the benefits of a pasta buffet held at the Buffalo Restaurant & Bar in Idaho Springs in April.
“We want the students to understand the commitment required to raise funds for this event,” said Dane Matthew, parent of a Carlson Elementary participant.
GOALS is a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to “inspire exploration in youth through multi-day wilderness river programs.”
Dan Ebert and his staff at the Buffalo Restaurant worked with GOALS students to offer the recent pasta buffet. Students participating in GOALS sold dinner tickets to community members and worked with the restaurant staff to seat, serve and clean. It provided participants an opportunity to work on their selling skills and showed them how hard it is to work in a restaurant.
“This was the prefect fund-raising event. It gave kids a chance to earn their portion of the program cost while simultaneously creating a strong sense of community, both between the kids who’ll be spending time together in the canyon and among those who are supporting them,” said Brett Hochmuth, GOALS founder and executive director.
“It seemed that the students enjoyed the sense of responsibility that came with working as servers and (table) bussers. For that opportunity and for making the entire event possible, we’re very thankful to Dan Ebert and the entire staff at the Buffalo Restaurant.”
Students had a great time working hard to serve more than 150 diners.
“My favorite part was getting everyone refills,” said Sarah Septon, a Carlson GOALS participant.
Including ticket sales and tips, the fund-raiser netted close to $1,400 for the 22 students participating in the trip.
The next combined GOALS fund-raiser is a duck race at 10:30 a.m. May 12 at Courtney Riley Cooper Park in Idaho Springs. Ducks may be purchased from any GOALS participant before race day. For more information about GOALS, visit http://www.goals4
youth.org/.