This spring, Karis Community marks a milestone that feels both deeply grounding and profoundly energizing: 50 years of hope, healing, and community.
Since our founding, Karis has taken many forms. Programs have evolved. Language has shifted. Best practices have grown and sharpened. And yet, through every iteration, one thing has remained beautifully consistent: Our belief that healing happens in relationships; that people deserve to be met with dignity, care, and community as they work toward stability and wholeness.
That belief is what has carried Karis through five decades of change. It’s what has shaped generations of Community Members, alums, staff, volunteers, and supporters. And it’s what we’ll be celebrating together at our 50 Years of Hope & Healing Spring Fundraiser on Friday, May 15, from 6–9pm at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
This evening is more than a celebration. It’s a moment to pause, reflect, and honor all that has made Karis what it is today, while also intentionally turning toward the future.
Honoring the Past, Looking Ahead
Fifty years is no small thing. It represents countless lives impacted, thousands of moments of courage, and an unwavering commitment to people navigating some of life’s hardest seasons. Through it all, Karis has remained rooted in the belief that community matters. That connection is not supplemental to healing, but essential to it.
As we celebrate this anniversary, we’re also asking an important question: How do we ensure Karis remains a place of healing, safety, and belonging for the next 50 years? One answer lies not only in our programming, but in the physical space that holds it.
Space as a Partner in Healing
At the end of 2025, Karis launched a trauma-informed infrastructure campaign rooted in a simple but powerful idea: the environments in which healing takes place matter.
Our building has long been a steady presence in this work, and there’s something especially meaningful about the fact that it turned 100 years old just months before Karis celebrates turning 50. Two milestones, side by side. A reminder that stewardship matters — not just of mission and values, but of the spaces that make community possible.
Through staff and Community Member focus groups, we’ve been listening closely to how our spaces are experienced day to day by the people who spend the most time in them. What helps people feel grounded? What fosters connection? What supports both dignity and sustainability? From those conversations, an emerging focus has taken shape, one that invites us to thoughtfully consider how our common spaces support connection, belonging, and healing.
These shared areas are where community is built – over meals, conversations, laughter, and quiet moments of connection. They are where people practice being in relationships again. Investing in these spaces means investing in belonging, safety, and long-term sustainability, not only for those we serve today, but for those who will walk through our doors decades from now.
A Collective Moment of Impact
At our Spring Fundraiser, this future-focused work will take center stage. All proceeds raised during the Paddle Raiser will directly support our trauma-informed infrastructure campaign, helping move this vision forward in a tangible, meaningful way.
The Paddle Raiser is always a powerful moment, not just because of the numbers, but because it represents a shared commitment. A room full of people choosing, together, to invest in care that lasts. In a community that endures. In a future where healing spaces continue to evolve alongside the people they serve.
A Personal Reflection
I’m often struck by how much responsibility and possibility coexist at Karis. To lead an organization approaching its 50th year, inside a building that just celebrated its 100th, is a humbling reminder that we are part of something much larger than ourselves.
We carry forward the care, courage, and vision of those who came before us, while holding a deep responsibility to shape what comes next with intention and heart.
This Spring Fundraiser is an invitation into that shared commitment. A chance to celebrate our legacy, invest in the future, and come together around the belief that hope and healing are not just ideals, but practices we return to, again and again.
I hope you’ll join us on May 15 to celebrate where we’ve been, honor who we are, and help build what’s next — for Karis and for the many lives still to be impacted in the decades ahead!
By Annie Wharton
Executive Director