Just because Zane Beadles isn’t a Denver Bronco anymore doesn’t mean he has forgotten about the Mile High City.
The Zane Beadles Parade Foundation, a nonprofit organization that the offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers founded in 2013, is headquartered here, and he comes back for a visit whenever his schedule allows.
Most recently, Beadles joined friends and fans at a reception that kicked off sales of the 2017 Parade Partners Card. Cardholders receive a 20 percent discount at over 100 shops, spas and restaurants in the Denver metro area Nov. 3-12. Many of the participating retailers are those that don’t often offer discounts or have sales and include Arhaus, the St. John Boutique GNAT Jewelers and the St. Croix Shop.
Cards remain on sale until the end of the promotion. They’re $50 until July 31; after that, the price jumps to $60. Visit partnerscard.zanesparade.org, where there’s also a partial list of participating retailers.
The kickoff party, planned by the foundation’s executive director Julie Gart, was held at Venue 221, a Mid-Century Modern event space at 221 Detroit St. in Cherry Creek North. Owned by Cindy Wynne and her son, Thomas, the two-story facility was designed by architect Michael Knorr and opened last fall.
Beadles and his wife, Meredith, a speech therapist who he met while playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars and married in March, were joined by Broncos rookie tackle Garrett Bolles and Ryan Harris, a former offensive tackle for the Broncos whose 10-year career in the NFL ended when he retired from the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of the 2016 season.
Beadles and Bolles are both graduates of the University of Utah and Beadles is helping his friend prepare for the ups, downs, joys and sorrows that are part and parcel of life in the NFL.
Bolles’ wife, Natalie, and infant son, Kingston, also attended the party, as did such Zane Beadles Parade Foundation board members as certified public accountant Rob Knorr; Keegan Gerhard, an award-winning pastry chef and co-owner of D Bar Denver ; and Ching-Yuan Hu, an event designer for Catering by Design.
Income generated from the sale of the Parade Partners Cards helps support the foundation’s efforts to bring “joy and a sense of normalcy” to children in the midst of treatment for cancer and other life-threatening conditions, and their families.
“Fun, memorable experiences during treatment have proven to significantly improve the quality of life and overall recovery,” Beadles said, adding that since its start, the foundation, through its Greatest Gifts Program, has helped 5,000 families in Colorado, Florida and California by providing such pleasant distractions as tickets to a sporting event and surfing lessons.
Brent’s Place, the only Children’s Hospital Colorado-approved safe-clean housing facility for long term oncology and bone marrow transplant patients, has long enjoyed support from the Zane Beadles Parade Foundation. In addition to preparing and serving meals, hosting birthday parties for the young residents and their siblings, foundation volunteers are raising money to build a sports court at Brent’s Place Too, a new facility that will be built adjacent to the second Brent’s Place that is located near the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
The original Brent’s Place opened in 1998; the move to a second, larger location happened in 2009.
Beadles’ foundation also supports a suite for long-term cancer and bone marrow transplant patients and their families at a Denver Ronald McDonald House; provides volunteers for the Cuddle Program in the newborn intensive care unit at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children; helps with the Gabby Krause Foundation’s Bags of Fun program and in December partnered with Jazz Pharmaceuticals to send 20 teens in treatment at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University to see the 49ers play the New York Jets.
