It’s beginning to look a lot like the holiday season in Estes Park with the Quota Club’s Festival of Trees open house, which kicked off Wednesday evening at the Estes Park Resort.
There were traditional trees, and modern trees, a Grinch Who Stole Christmas tree, and a doghouse tree. There were trees with handmade ornaments and shiny ones with glass baubles, traditional green trees, and flocked trees. Some trees were decked out in red and green, while others were dressed in frosty blue. One had a mechanical tree topper with Santa in his sleigh that circumnavigated around and around.
The forest of more than 40 elaborately decorated tabletop Christmas trees will be on display in the hotel’s lobby from now through Dec. 14. The event is a fundraiser for the Quota Club, which operates a loan closet of durable medical equipment available to area residents and visitors.
Over the years, the nonprofit organization has provided the community with ambulances and funding for hearing aids and speech therapy services for both youth and the elderly. Additionally, Quota has supported Park Health, Salud, Partners, the Prospect Park Living Center, the Estes Park Library, and the Estes Park Museum.
The holiday trees are decorated by local businesses, nonprofits, artists, Quota members, and other community members. Visitors can purchase tickets for $1 a piece, 6 for $5, or 13 for $10, and place them in raffle boxes located at the base of each tree, with the hope of having their name drawn at 3 p.m. on Dec. 14 to win the decorated tree.
Quota Club History
The Quota Club traces its roots to a group of friends who were socializing at the Wheel Bar in the winter of 1949. The inspiration came from the March of Dimes campaign which allowed people to support an important charitable cause even on a small scale and with limited resources.
Since Estes Park lacked both a hospital and an ambulance service, the friends decided to raise funds for an ambulance. The group learned about Quota International, an organization founded in Buffalo, New York, with chapters nationwide, which could provide the Estes Park group with the necessary nonprofit status to fundraise and establish an operational structure. The organization’s name comes from the Latin word “quota pars,” meaning “a share of one part of a whole,” symbolizing the sharing of talent and responsibility.
Loan Closet
Seventy-six years later, the Quota Club remains strong as a community nonprofit. Their loan closet provides durable medical equipment for area residents and visitors, including hospital beds, walkers, wheelchairs, toilet risers, canes, crutches, shower chairs, roll-abouts, knee walkers, and more. In the past year, Quota has served 454 clients and has loaned 724 pieces of equipment.
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