Annual martini tasting helps local scholars
“My life completely changed when I was 9 years old and my mother passed away,” Juan Carbajal told a crowd gathered for a fundraiser for Boys Hope Girls Hope Colorado. “Every day was characterized by work. My siblings and I went to school and my dad went to work. At home, it was work trying to keep my depressed family together; and every single day that I woke up, it felt like I was working just to be alive.
“But I was OK with that as long as it meant that I was helping my dad pay the bills, helping my sisters with their schoolwork, helping put some food on the table, and maybe having just enough money to buy them something nice on Christmas,” Carbajal said.
“Then, one day, in my high school English class, my teacher Mrs. Summers handed me an application to become a Boys Hope Girls Hope scholar. She told me about a new program that was coming to my high school, and it was designed to help families living in poverty send their children to college,
“I filled out the application that very day, I attended the information session the following week, and I made it to the final interview, praying to God that I would be accepted,” he said. “When I found out that I was, I almost couldn’t believe it. It seemed too good to be true, and I cried. My life completely changed again…but this time for the better.”
Carbajal, a senior at the University of Northern Colorado as a result of his participation in Boys Hope Girls Hope, shared this memory during the 18th annual Shaken, Not Stirred Martini Party fundraiser hosted by BHGH’s Young Professionals Board. The annual event drew more than 300 people to the History Colorado Center to raise money for other students like Carbajal.
BHGH strives to get academically motivated children in need through high school and help them earn their college degree. The scholars are bright, talented and motivated, but often lack the resources and support to finish high school, much less get into and graduate from college. BHGH provides structure, mentoring, tutoring, and guidance to help kids break down walls and reach their goals. Each student receives one-on-one support throughout high school and college.
The Martini Party fundraiser features cocktails from Denver bars and restaurants, pitted against one another in a tasty competition. Winning martinis are selected by popular vote as well as votes from a celebrity judging panel which this year included Patricia Kaowthumrong, assistant food editor for 5280 Magazine, and Kristen Aguirre of 9News.
The ViewHouse’s Stevie Bevie martini took top honors this year, while Stoney’s Bar & Grill’s SWVNTS (Something With Vodka Not Too Sweet) cocktail was named most creative martini. Honors also went to Jax Fish Oyster Bar’s Bitter Me Timbers, #VYBE’s Joey’s Passion, and Vibe Concepts’s Bittersweet martini.
Partygoers enjoyed food from Rolling Smoke BBQ , Torchy’s Tacos and Catahoula Catering. Beer was provided by Great Divide Brewery and Blinker Fluid provided live music — as did BHGH scholar Jorge Palacios, who performed live jazz with his band the Jorge Palacios Quartet.
The Shaken, Not Stirred party is always fun, said Katie Crump, president of BHGH Young Professionals Board. “We raised $25,000, plus an anonymous match from one of our donor families, for a total of more than $50,000 to go towards college programming for local children in need.”
BHGH Colorado was established in 1993 and has provided more than 300 scholarships to young men and women of potential. The organization is founded on the belief that an excellent education is one of the primary tools required to break the cycle of poverty, abuse and neglect.
Learn more at boyshopegirlshope.org/colorado.