March 9, 2020
​Hosted by: River Deep Foundation and SCIHOP
Location: Cottonwood Center for the Arts, Colorado Springs
Participants: Operation TBI Freedom

On Monday  March 9th we had the opportunity to spend an amazing time with a group of 13 veterans and family members at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts learning about Gold Leafing. Our instructor Annie Pieper taught all us how to transform an everyday object into a extraordinary sculpture using ancient the ancient technique of art gilding or gold leafing. The participants learned a little history about the whole process as well as different ideas or small home projects where they can apply the technique.  Everyone had the opportunity to create a small piece art to take home.
 
Jesus Guerra, CBIS
Military Support Specialist, Operation TBI Freedom

Bob Adwar
River Deep Alliance, President
SCI HOP, VP/Humanitarian Chairman​

March 7, 2020
Location: Denver Fencing Center
Hosting by: River Deep Foundation & SCIHOP
Participants: Ft. Carson WTB and Craig Hospital Alumni

Some of our participants today have been here before and are excited to become more comfortable with the fundamentals. We always have great instructors at the Denver Fencing Center which makes for a fun class. We look forward to next month’s class!
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Bob Adwar
President, River Deep Foundation
VP, Humanitarian Chair - SCIHOP

February 29, 2020
Hosted by: River Deep Foundation and SCI HOP
Participants: School of Mines, Quality of Life Plus
Location: Valhalla Hunt Club, Bennett, CO

This is our second test of the adaptive shooting equipment from Colorado School of Mines. It will be mounted to a track chair to create real world experience. We all take a turn at some trap shooting. Overall it performs well. There are a few small adjustments that have to be made so the students will take it back to the lab and make the adjustments. Our next test is scheduled for the beginning of April. A big thanks to the Colorado School of Mines, QL+ and Valhalla Hunt Club.

Bob Adwar
River Deep Foundation, President
SCI HOP, VP Humanitarian Chairman

​Learn to Paint Abstract Acrylic Paintings

February 17, 2020 
Location: Art Student’s League of Denver 
Hosted by: River Deep Foundation & SCIHOP 
Participants: Craig Hospital 

Our instructor today is Karen Roehl. She starts with an overview of abstract acrylics and then passes out the supplies. Imagination, brushes and paint in hand, everyone goes to work. The variety of colors and drawings are limitless. Everyone is having a great time and at the end of the class will take home their own masterpiece. A big thank you to Karen and everyone at Art Students League of Denver. 

Bob Adwar 
River Deep Foundation, President 
SCI HOP - VP of Humanitarian Outreach 

Zentangle Art Class
Monday, February 10, 2020
Location: Cottonwood Center for the Arts, Colorado Springs
Hosted By: River Deep Foundation & Denver SCI Humanitarian Outreach Program Participants: Operation TBI Freedom

All of the participants, including 9 veterans and 2 family members, had an amazing time at Cottonwood Center for the Arts learning about Zentangle! Our instructor, Deb Prewitt introduced our clients to a few Zentangle drawing techniques and the philosophy behind this. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to relax, focus and expand their imagination. Each person created a masterpiece to take home.

Jesus Guerra, CBIS
Military Support Specialist, Operation TBI Freedom

Bob Adwar
River Deep Foundation, President
SCI HOP - VP of Humanitarian Outreach

Adaptive Equipment Test
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Location: Valhalla Hunt Club & Kennels
Hosted By: River Deep Foundation & Denver SCI Humanitarian Outreach Program
Participants: Craig Hospital, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, 
Quality of Life Plus ​

As part of the ongoing project with Colorado School of Mines, the students and Chris Ravotti from the Therapeutic Recreation Department of Craig Hospital, Scott Huyvaert with QL+, and myself, Bob Adwar, gathered at the Valhalla Hunt Club trap range to test the adaptive equipment for shotguns. The device is designed for paraplegic individuals to be able to participate in shotgun sports like trap, skeet, sporting clay and upland bird hunting. It holds the shotgun which takes the weight off the user, so it helps with the follow through of a moving target, a critical aspect of shotgun sports.
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The enginereering students lead the test. The rest of us shoot using the device and offer feedback. We are all pleased with the results, so only minor adjustments will be made before we return for another test. 
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Bob Adwar
River Deep Foundation, President
SCI HOP - VP of Humanitarian Outreach

Sunday, January 26, 2020
Hosted by: River Deep Foundation and SCI HOP
Participants:
​Operation TBI Freedom and Ft. Carson Warrior Transition Battalion
Location: Specialty Appliance, Greenwood Village, CO

Wild Game Cooking Class with Leslie Fangman
Today, Leslie is instructing us on how to throw the ultimate Super Bowl party. Antelope, pheasant, mule deer, vegetables, fruit, chips, tacos and tortillas. These are the ingredients for the appetizers, and a few of them will even make it to the main course. The best part about learning how to make these great dishes is eating them! We have a large class today full of men, women and children and everyone enjoys learning these great recipes. What a fun day! Big thanks to Chef Leslie, Lori Raymond and Specialty Appliance for making it possible.

Friday, Saturday Jan 24-25 2020
Hosted By: River Deep Foundation SCI HOP
Participants: Operation TBI Freedom
Location: Holyoke Colorado
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Pheasant and Goose Hunt with Allen Strong of Nebrado farms
We arrived Friday the 24th of Jan around noon and after meeting our host Allen Strong and his son for a safety briefing about where and what we were hunting, we headed out to find the birds. Today we are looking for roosters and we spent the rest of the day walking and flushing Pheasants on different properties around Holyoke. Unfortunately the roosters were not cooperating with our plans and we couldn’t seem to find them, but we watched hen after hen fly, as well as spotting other wildlife. Finally, we were able to bring down two roosters and two Eurasian doves. After the hunt we headed into town to have dinner with our guides at Happy Jacks Barbeque in Holyoke. If you haven’t been there before you should definitely check it out. The food there is amazing, as is the owner and his staff.

Day 2 the Goose Hunt: We leave at 5:30am and head to Allen’s Pit, where we are going to hunt. As the sun came up we could here the geese off in the distance as they began to fly. Our guides called and called but to no avail. With no real cloud cover, the birds continually flew out of range of the pit and we never had a chance to do any hunting. All we could do is sit and wait. We decided to call off the hunt around noon because the geese didn’t want to cooperate.

Even though our hunting wasn’t very productive, everyone still had a great time. Friendships were started and others solidified. Any day outside in nature is better than a day inside surrounded by walls.

Chuck Williamson
River Deep Foundation
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Bob Adwar
River Deep Foundation, President
SCI HOP - VP of Humanitarian Outreach

Monday, January 20, 2020
Location: Art Students League of Denver
Hosted By: River Deep Foundation & SCIHOP
Participants: Craig Hospital

Learn to Paint with Pastels
Our instructor for today’s class is Max Maddox. He starts the class by explaining the rules. There are only two— be creative and enjoy yourself. He places an orchid plant on the stool in the middle of the students and hands out the supplies. After some guidance, everyone goes to work on their masterpieces. At the end of the class we share our work and looking forward to finding a place in our house to view and sharing with our friends and family. It’s been a great class! A big thanks to Max and ASLD for hosting us.
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Bob Adwar
River Deep Foundation, President
SCI HOP - VP of Humanitarian Outreach

Monday, January 6, 2020
Location: Cottonwood Art Center - Colorado Springs
Hosted By: River Deep Foundation and SCI Humanitarian Outreach Program
Participants: Operation TBI Freedom

Acrylic Landscapes
We had an amazing time last night at the Cottonwood Art Center with a group of veterans and family members. Our instructor Jess Preble did an amazing job teaching everybody how to paint their own landscapes using acrylic paint. We painted from the background to foreground with a simple, loose approach to mark-making. The class went over techniques such as color mixing, blending and layering, with an option to customize their own paintings with mountains, trees, rivers, etc. The class was very relaxing. We had music in the background and enjoyed some pizza and refreshments during the process. Thank you to River Deep and our instructor Jess Preble for a wonderful time!

Jesus Guerra, CBIS
Military Support Specialist, Operation TBI Freedom
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Bob Adwar
River Deep Alliance, President
SCI HOP, VP/Humanitarian Chairman