We are not accepting wedding gifts; we think the time and money you’re spending to share our special day in Brazil is gift enough.

"If you happen to be feeling particularly generous, or can't make it to the wedding but want to give a gift that really counts," please consider donating to one or more of the following organizations in our name:

• PowderToThePeople.org – The nonprofit that Mike founded to advocate for equal backcountry access as well as education, safety, and backcountry etiquette. Visit the website here to learn more and donate directly.

• The Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation – This is a local woman’s mission to provide quality, professional care and rehabilitation to injured or orphaned wildlife and educational programs. This is the place where the “trouble” bears – or more frequently their cubs – in our area go and it’s often their only chance to return to the wild. Donation info on the site.

• Lift Up – LIFT-UP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing essential humanitarian assistance – like emergency food, prescriptions and referrals to other agencies – in the lower Roaring Fork Valley. Many of you may not know it but there’s a huge underclass in this area and they’re the people that do all the menial jobs. Attracted by good wages, they now live in one of the most expensive places in the country, and they need the help that their jobs don’t give them.

• Aspen Valley Medical Foundation Direct Assistance Program – This program provides for people who need dental procedures, prescriptions, or emergency medical services. The requests come by referral and payments are made to the healthcare provider or pharmacy. Another way to make a donation that’s very specifically helpful. A direct donation link can be found on this page: http://www.plan.gs/Home.do?orgId=1128

• Doctors without borders – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care in nearly 60 countries. These folks are just flat-out brave, the baddest of the badass human helpers.

• FINCA International – This organization has a pretty cool concept: to provide financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living. By its commitment to global microfinance, FINCA has one of the best chances of significantly reducing world poverty.

• The Human Society of the United States – Plain and simple, how can you resist those adorable faces? In all seriousness, unwanted, mistreated and non-spayed pets are the true innocent victims of our society. Besides abuses like chaining, dogfighting and animal hoarding, 6-8 million cats and dogs enter shelters every year, and 3-4 million are euthanized. If you have any idea of the kind of joy and love a pet can bring in your life, it’s worth making a contribution to their welfare.