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How does community and faith intersect with homelessness? Ian Stitt is the Executive Director of Network Coffeehouse and through his work, he shows how it can offer an alternative to individualism, greed, exclusivity, and the debilitating loneliness that seems to plague every corner of our world Additional Links Network Coffeehouse (Website): ⁠https://www.networkcoffeehouse.org/ Network Coffeehouse (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/networkcoffeehouse/ Network Coffeehouse (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/networkcoffeehouse It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (YouTube): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast⁠ It Matters To Me (Website): ⁠https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

For children with medical conditions that require complexmedical devices, it can be hard to feel like they fit in. Kay Newman created KiddoDitto to fix that and with her beautifully designed replicas that mirror each child and their medical needs, she’s helping them have the loving experience they all deserve. Additional Links KiddoDitto (Website): https://www.kiddoditto.org/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

What does it mean to be Jewish in this moment? Rabbi Menachem director of the Jewish Outreach Initiative, a program nestled under the non-profit organization, Aish of the Rockies, helps people answer that question for themselves. Additional Links Jewish Outreach Initiative (Website): https://www.joidenver.com/ Jewish Outreach Initiative (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/joidenver Jewish Outreach Initiative (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/ JOIdenver/ Rabbi Menachem (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lehrfield It Matters To Me (Instagram): ⁠https://www.instagram.com/itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (YouTube): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast⁠ It Matters To Me (Website): ⁠https://itmatterstomepodcast.com

The bathroom is often the most private part of any home. But what if you don’t have a home? Showers For All, and its founder, Jenn Kloeppel, can’t give every person they serve their own home with their own bathroom but what they can offer to those living on the streets in Denver is a chance to take a shower and do their laundry for anyone who is struggling with homelessness and poverty. Additional Links Showers For All (Website): https://showersforall.org/ Showers For All (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/showersforall/ Showers For All (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/showersforall/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/itmatterstomepodcast⁠ It Matters To Me (YouTube): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): ⁠https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

Stewardship goes further than just picking up trash. Becca Schild and the non-profit she leads, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, makes sure it’s a community driven event that nourishes not just the Roaring For Valley but also the people who give their time and energy. Additional Links Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (Website): https://www.rfov.org/ Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/rfovolunteers Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/RoaringForkOutdoorVolunteers/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): ⁠https://www.instagram.com/itmatterstomepodcast⁠ It Matters To Me (YouTube): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): ⁠https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

Colorado’s fourteeners don’t maintain themselves you know. Brian Sargeant and the rest of the grew that makeup Colorado Fourteeners Initiative help ensure these towering peaks are here for generations to come through trail stewardship and public education. Additional Links Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (Website): https://www.14ers.org/ Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/colorado14ersinitiative/ Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/Colorado14ersInitiative It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/ Partners and Sponsors MagicMind: https://magicmind.com/itmatters20

Founded in Aspen, Colorado in January 2013, Huts For Vets provides at no cost to participants, wilderness and communal experiences as therapeutic healing for U.S. veterans and active-duty service members. Erik Villasenor is their Executive Director and being an Army veteran himself with combat deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan, he was once a participant at a retreat before stepping into the leadership role he has now. Additional Links Huts For Vets (Website): https://hutsforvets.org/ Huts For Vets (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/hutsforvets/ Huts For Vets (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnZp3n-6whnzJ6A34UaJNg It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/ Partners and Sponsors Magic Mind: https://magicmind.com/

Back on My Feet bridges the gap between emergency resources and self-sufficiency to truly help someone recover from homelessness, addiction, and often both. They empower members to break free from those cycles through the unrelenting power of fitness, community support, and employment resources. Additional Links Back on My Feet (Website): https://backonmyfeet.org/ Back on My Feet (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backonmyfeet/ Back on My Feet (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/user/BackonMyFeetNational/videos  It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

Climate change... a topic we're all too familiar with but still have so much to learn about. Aspire Adventure Running organizes single and multi-day running adventures across Cascadia and Northern California. This year, they hosted their first Climate Summit to bring together professionals from all walks of life to discuss current research, technologies, and trends in this ongoing debate. Additional Links Aspire Adventure Running (Website): https://www.aspireadventurerunning.com/ Aspire Adventure Running (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/aspire.adventure.running/?hl=en Aspire Adventure Running (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/aspireadventurerunning/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

She has a runner’s body. It is also a body that lost 200lbs and has run 100-mile ultras and climbed mountains. All after enduring years of mistreatment from overeating, undereating, binge eating and no eating. Callie Vinson is an ultra-runner and advocate for body diversity and inclusivity within outdoor sports. She shares her deeply personal story in hopes it’ll inspire you to think twice about what’s holding you back. Additional Links Callie Vinson (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/callievinsonn/ Callie Vinson (Outside Magazine): https://www.outsideonline.com/health/running/culture-running/people/callie-vinson-believes-in-herself/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Claire took her passion for skiing to the next level when she co-founded SheJumps alongside the professional freeskier, Lynsey Dyer and journalist, Vanessa Pierce in 2007. Since then, SheJumps has created over 46,000 opportunities for women and girls to get outside by offering a variety of outdoor activities ranging from wilderness survival and mountaineering to technical maintenance and skill-building clinics. We talk about what is was like to start SheJumps at the age of 22 and how its mission has grown over the last 16 years to include people who may not have the easiest access to wild landscapes. We also talk about the challenges young women and girls face in participating in the outdoors compared to men and the small but meaningful changes that need to happen to address that. Additional Links SheJumps (Website): https://www.shejumps.org/ SheJumps (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/shejumps/?hl=en SheJumps (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/SheJumps/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/ Partners and Sponsors Naked: https://nakedsportsinnovations.com/

Sexual assault and Type 2 Diabetes are hard enough to process on their own but combined, they can be almost insurmountable. Sydney Williams navigated her way through those experiences on a hike across the Trans-Catalina Trail and is now helping others do the same through her 501c3, Hiking My Feelings. Additional Links Hiking My Feelings (Website): https://hikingmyfeelings.org/ Hiking My Feelings (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/hikingmyfeelings/ Hiking My Feelings (Book): https://hikingmyfeelings.org/hiking-my-feelings-book Hiking My Feelings (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/c/hikingmyfeelings It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@itmatterstomepodcast It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/

They might be younger, faster, or have a bigger engine.... but you can Suffer Better. Peter Downing and Bob Africa are using Suffer Better to tap the inexhaustible commitment of the endurance athlete community to preserve and protect our natural environment while improving local communities. Additional Links Suffer Better (Website): https://sufferbetter.com/about Suffer Better (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/sufferbetter/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/ Partners and Sponsors Naked: https://nakedsportsinnovations.com/

“I think anyone will have their own definition of what that means to them and I think for me and for Rising Hearts it really embodies, you know, the passion and the commitment to what you love and care about the most that truly makes it the work that’s coming from the heart.”  Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show where we highlight people working alongside nonprofits that intersect with the outdoors.  Jordan Marie Whetstone, professional athlete, advocate, and founder of Rising Hearts, an Indigenous-led grassroots group devoted to elevating Indigenous voices and promoting intersectional collaborative efforts across all movements with the goals of racial, social, climate, and economic justice.  As a 4th generation runner, Jordan garnered national headlines during her 2019 Boston Marathon race where she ran on behalf of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) with a red hand painted across her face to symbolize the silent voices taken. Through her advocacy work, Jordan's primary focuses are to inform, elevate, mobilize, and organize through strategic and targeted advocacy, establishing collaborative partnerships to help create a better and safer future and environment for all of our relatives who inhabit this planet, past, present and future. Additional Links   Rising Hearts (Website): https://www.risinghearts.org/  Rising Hearts (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/rising_hearts/  Jordan Marie Whetstone (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/nativein_la/  It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/  It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/  Jordan’s Website: https://www.jordanmariedaniel.com/film  Rising Hearts Documentary Film: https://youtu.be/vAbapAmkjFo     Partners and Sponsors Naked: https://nakedsportsinnovations.com/ 

“Basically what we’re doing is trying to bridge this gap. We know the problems of climate change, we know the solutions, and what’s going to connect those two is community. It’s people." Welcome everyone to another episode of the It Matters To Me Podcast, a show that seeks out individuals dedicating their time and energy to non-profit causes that are bigger than themselves and the motivations behind that choice. Today I have on the show, Dakota Jones, professional ultra-runner and Executive Director of Footprints, a 501-c-3 non-profit in the U.S. that exists as an incubator for climate action. If you’re a particularly dedicated fan to the sport of trail-running, you might already know Dakota for some of his crazy fast times on courses like Hardrock or Transvulcania but what you might now know about him is his passion for addressing climate change. Originally from Colorado, Dakota, took the ultra-running scene by storm starting in 2011 and has used that notoriety to become a vocal advocate for environmental justice. The camps that Footprints put on are more than just a group of people getting together to run trails and simply talk about how they’d address climate change but instead is a chance for people who apply and are accepted into the program to put those words into action in their own communities. Offering the benefit of mentors who know simply how to get things done, Footprints gives runners the chance to turn their ideas and passions into something tangible that will hopefully go on to protect the outdoor places they love. Before we get started, I recently had the privilege of testing out some new running gear courtesy of Naked Sports Innovations and let me tell you, I can’t sing their praises enough. The waistband and hydration vest they sent is some of the most comfortable pieces of running gear I’ve used in years. I’ve actually just been leaving the waistband on all day because it’s so comfortable and useful. Made with an ultra-breathable mesh material, it fits snug around your waist and can carry poles, phone, water bottles, really whatever you feel like you’re going to need on your run. I’ll include a link in the show notes to their website for you to get your hands on some yourself and to check out some of their other products. Additional Links Footprints (Website): https://runfootprints.org/about Footprints Running Camp Video (Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krWA8vni4F4&pp=ygUXZm9vdHByaW50cyBydW5uaW5nIGNhbXA%3D Footprints (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/footprintsrunning/ Dakota Jones (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/thatdakotajones/ It Matters To Me (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/adamcasey/ It Matters To Me (Website): https://itmatterstomepodcast.com/ Protect Our Winters (Website): https://protectourwinters.org/ Honnold Foundation (Website): https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/ Partners and Sponsors Naked: https://nakedsportsinnovations.com/