$1 million pledged to Garden of Gods by 89-year neighboring gift shop
Sept. 14, 2018The Garden of the Gods Trading Post has announced it will give $100,000 each year to its namesake city park starting in 2019, for a gift totaling $1 million.
The donation, which honors the Trading Post's Centennial Celebration in 2029, will go to Colorado Springs Parks through the Garden of the Gods Foundation, which helps
The Garden of the Gods Trading
Post, technically a Manitou Springs business but located just outside
the Colorado Springs city park, is shown in a file photo.
Westside Pioneer file photo
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“We are thrilled to receive this generous donation from our partners at the Trading Post,” said City Parks Director Karen Palus. “This is a wonderful collaboration between the Trading Post, the foundation and the city and a great example of community organizations working together toward a common goal; in this case, sustaining the natural beauty of Garden of the Gods Park.”
The Trading Post is located at 324 Beckers Lane, a Manitou Springs address that's just outside the Garden.
The business “has operated in its present manifestation since 1929, when it was founded by Charles E. Strausenback [and is] the oldest continually operating gift shop and gallery in Colorado, ” a press release states. “True to its roots, the Trading Post continues to be an integral part of the area's history and serves as a popular tourist destination.”
Tim Haas, president of TAT Enterprises, Inc., which owns the Trading Post, was quoted in the press release that over the years the business “has contributed to many initiatives to support Garden of the Gods Park through the [Colorado Springs] Parks Department, Friends of Garden of the Gods, the Garden of the Gods Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Field Institute.
He added that the new donation plan “will greatly increase our level of commitment over the next 10 years to help preserve and maintain this wonderful treasure."
The foundation owns and operates the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center at 30th Street and Gateway Road, donating a portion of its proceeds annually to City Parks for Gardem upkeep.
According to Jan Martin, foundation president, the Trading Post bequest will allow the nonprofit to “add additional projects to our annual contribution to the Parks Department to enhance and protect this registered National Natural Landmark.”
Westside Pioneer/press release
(Outdoors:
Garden of the Gods)
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