LoDo Cares Program Benefiting The Barth Hotel

The LoDo Cares program has been quietly brightening the lives of residents of the Barth Hotel since 1990.  The Barth Hotel is an assisted living center in the heart of Lower Downtown at the corner of 17th and Blake Streets.  The facility is managed by Senior Housing Options, and the beautifully-restored historic building is home to approximately 62 low-income and disabled seniors, some of the only “affordable housing” dwellers in the District.

The LoDo Cares program provides several small presents to each resident of The Barth Hotel on Christmas Eve morning. Community participation is especially important to those residents who receive little support from the outside world and may be without family, so the LoDo Cares efforts may be the only gifts received during the holidays.

The LoDo Cares program is run by a small crew of volunteers who raise donations and purchase and wrap the gifts.  A volunteer Santa spends Christmas Eve morning handing out the gifts to the delight of the Barth residents, and local restaurants donate food to create a traditional holiday meal.  Plus, we also recognize Barth Hotel residents on their birthdays. This is an entirely voluntary, community effort.

Want to help out? The LoDo District is always in need of volunteers who want to get involved in a fun program that puts all money collected to work on a local level.  We particularly need volunteers who like to shop and wrap. We will also gratefully accept donations in support of this program, and all donations are tax deductible.

Have questions or want to volunteer? Contact the LoDo District Office at 303.628.5428 or info@lodo.org. To learn more about Senior Housing Options and The Barth Hotel, visit www.seniorhousingoptions.org.

The LoDo Cares program is presented through the generous sponsorship of the Van Gilder Insurance Company. Founded in Denver in 1905, Van Gilder is one of the largest and most successful full-service insurance brokerage firms in the country— and is still independently owned by members of the founding family as well as by company employees. To learn more about Van Gilder, visit www.vgic.com.