Something by hip-hop artists Naughty by Nature was playing on the radio when I started writing this column and for some reason, hearing their name made me think what a great thing it is to live in Colorado where so many people are generous and compassionate by nature.
Such as the 1,800 who joined Project C.U.R.E. at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center to hear Mexico’s first lady, Margarita Zavala de Calderon, discuss health issues facing her country. She also reminded guests what an impact their efforts are having on health care around the world.
This was the second year Project C.U.R.E. has hosted a First Ladies Luncheon (last year, the first lady of El Salvador was the special guest) although in years past the Denver- based nonprofit has played host to the president of Rwanda and the first lady of Uganda. Colorado first lady Jeannie Ritter and Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien were the honorary chairs and KMGH-Channel 7 anchor Anne Trujillo was mistress of ceremonies.
Zavala de Calderon, a lawyer, describes herself as a “proud partner” of Project C.U.R.E. and says she was overjoyed to learn that the Colorado-based nonprofit has pledged to deliver more than $2 million in lifesaving medical relief to hospitals and clinics in Mexico’s poorest regions.
Project C.U.R.E. (Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) was founded in 1987 by Dr. James Jackson of Evergreen following a business trip to rural Brazil where he was struck by long lines of people waiting to enter a small and poorly equipped medical clinic.
Within a month of his return home, Jackson had secured $250,000 worth of donated medical supplies which he sent, at his own expense via cargo ship, to the clinic.
Since then, Project C.U.R.E. has grown from its headquarters in the Jackson family garage to an entity that has collection centers in 25 U.S. cities and ships an average of one 40-foot container of supplies a week, every week of the year, to impoverished areas in 100 countries, including North Korea, Cuba, China, Russia and Vietnam. Jackson’s son, Douglas, is the president and CEO.
The evening before the lunch, a couple hundred of the VIP guests were invited to meet Zavala de Calderon at a cocktail reception held at Steve and Neyeska Mut’s home in Cherry Hills Village.
Steve Mut is an international leader in the gas and energy field and is now chief executive officer of Shell Exploration and Production’s Unconventional Resources Unit, leading a team that is researching and developing a new and enhanced method for recovering oil shale in northwestern Colorado. Both he and his wife have supported Project C.U.R.E. since moving here in 2000.
Frances Owens, Jamie Angelich, Claire Cunningham and Lauren Naylor helped coordinate the reception, which was catered by Strings. Guests included Eduardo Arnal, consul general of Mexico in Colorado; Basil Sebbah, chairman of the board of Solera National Bank; and Jeannie Ritter.
Familiar faces in the luncheon crowd were Moses Brewer from Coors Brewing Co.; former Denver District Attorney Norm Early; Felicia and Dr. Michael Muftic; Helen and Warren Hanks; and Adrienne Ruston Fitzgibbons.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, blogs
