The Colorado Fall Home Show opens Friday at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, and patrons will find exhibits from hundreds of vendors offering décor, home furnishing and remodeling ideas.
But each paying visitor will also be underwriting an annual scholarship and grant program that distributes funds to deserving individuals and programs throughout the state. This year more than $500,000 was awarded.
Perhaps the two biggest winners are Taylor Goldenstein and Audrey Zanetti, two young woman from rural Colorado who each landed a full-ride, four-year scholarship to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Their freshman year just underway, they are pursuing agriculture-related majors at the school.
Jim Fricke, executive director of the , which sponsors the show and awards the grants, said the scholarships are worth about $110,000 apiece. They include all tuition, housing, books and fees, and each student gets a new laptop computer and printer upon starting school.
“And they also graduate from college debt-free,” he said.
The scholarship was launched 10 years ago.
“The idea was to find a kid out there who wanted to go to the school of agriculture in Colorado but wouldn’t be able to go without a scholarship,” Fricke said. “And every year we always found someone who was hands-down the best candidate.
“This year, we found two kids who were hands-down the best candidates,” he said, noting that the board vote to award scholarships to both was unanimous.
Goldenstein said it was a “huge relief” when she learned in late spring that she had landed the scholarship. She was raised by her great-grandparents on their family farm near Holyoke.
“I plan to study soil and crop science and plan to concentrate in agronomic management,” she said. Goldenstein said she hopes to pursue her agriculture career on the Eastern Plains.
Zanetti, who is from Platteville, was an active horticulturist at home and in the Valley High School greenhouse. She said she looks forward to becoming an agriculture teacher after graduating from CSU.
“I simply can’t wait to start this journey,” she said.
The Colorado Fall Home Show is presented by the Colorado Garden Foundation. The Lakewood-based nonprofit corporation has awarded more than $6.8 million for horticultural projects and scholarships in the state. It also mounts the Colorado Home & Garden Show.
The foundation’s grants and scholarships are funded by the entirety of proceeds from the show.
Two major grant winners include the 2015 Andrew Pierce Memorial Grant to . This $50,000 grant supports the
An $80,000 grant went to The Ronald McDonald House Charities for a therapeutic healing garden near Saint Joseph Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Other 2015 grants range from $500 to $25,000 to fund school community gardens, educational programs, butterfly gardens, greenhouses, sensory gardens, and landscaping and garden irrigation projects, among others.
More information about grants and scholarships can be found at .
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp
Colorado Fall Home Show
What: Presented by the Colorado Garden Foundation, the event features hundreds of exhibitors showcasing home renovation, remodeling and sustainable living.
When: Sept. 11-13. Hours Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St.
Admission: General, $10; seniors, $8 (at the door); children 12 and under free. Tickets are available at Ticket West Ticket Centers in all King Soopers, or at the door.
