History of Lyons’ Can’d Aid, 10 years after its 2013 flood support
Please join us for our 10th Anniversary Celebration in Denver on August 10th. We’ll be celebrating in the best way we know how: rallying volunteers for a good cause with live music and libations! 
August 10th, 2023 | 5-10pm | Oskar Blues Grill & Brew | 1624 Market St, Denver, CO 80202 == CLICK HERE for tickets / to volunteer / Donate /More Information
All of our signature programs will be showcased, and we could use your help building bikes and skateboards and assembling art kits for underserved Colorado youth. After the event, stick around for a ticketed bluegrass show with Songs From the Road Band and Arthur Hancock -and you won’t want to miss this show!
History of Can’d Aid, which originated with Dale Katechis, Lyons, CO
Aid, as in “Can’d Aid,” can come in the form of a bike, a skateboard, a check or a can of water. Ten years ago, Dale Katechis was running the first Oskar Blues Grill & Brew restaurant located in Lyons. The successful restaurant and draft beer was growing in popularity, as well as its identity as an important stable business in Lyons. When the Great Flood of 2013 hit Lyons, people across Colorado and even other states, contacted Oskar Blues and Dale to see how they could help. He had been pondering the idea of starting a nonprofit for a while with college friend Diana Ralston (no relation to the Lyons Ralston Brothers). It seemed like the ideal time to start up the nonprofit. Due to the emergency situation, they were able to register the name Can’d Aid and obtain a 501(c)3 status quickly.
“Back in the day, when we opened up in Lyons we became the community hub,” said Dale. “We always wanted to organize a local charity and philanthropic group here. We were constantly being asked for help, whether it was the school turkey trout, or a resident’s personal disaster. We became the resource for people to go to. Due to the volume of requests after the flood we made it a reality.”
At the time, Diana was living in Crested Butte and had been working with nonprofits for many years. She was running a nonprofit in Crested Butte, an Art Festival. She had been working with Oskar Blues, as a sales representative, selling beer on the Western Slope.
“I was getting to know a lot of people at Oskars,” said Diana. “I loved what was happening with the company. I was a life-long nonprofit person, and I pitched something like Can’d Aid to Dale. Something that would be impetus for a socially responsible endeavor. After the flood, it became a quick collective decision to start it.”
Dale and Diana set up an office in Oskar Blue’s office headquarters in Longmont. She would come down once a month, and stay for a week, to work on Can’d Aid tasks. In a year she moved to Longmont, and has now lived in Lyons for seven years. They developed a short form for Lyons flood disaster residents to fill out for aid.
“When FEMA came to town and set up shop, we heard it was not very helpful,” said Dale. “That’s when we decided to take action. I started the fund with a quarter of a million dollars, and donations poured in, including from special event fundraisers. We started funding people inside a week. That was the start of our ‘Do Goodery.’ ”
A Board of Directors would meet to look over the applications (later meeting once a month). It was made simple because they understood that people had lost a lot of their documentation, and old photos.
“Over the months, it became a rolling thing, with people dropping off applications,” said Diana. “Various fundraisers happened over the first year, such as a bunch of beer festivals. The craft beer industry hangs together, and they did collaborative events.”
Families, businesses and some nonprofits got checks… usually in the amount of $1,000. It was picked up at CHUBurger in Longmont.
“The first year, we gave out about $521,000,” said Diana. “We were part of Viva Lyons, in Bohn Park, one year after the flood. Gov. Hickenlooper played his banjo for a set with the Infamous String Dusters. The second year we expanded into new territory, and had things that already made sense to do.”
Can’d Aid was in the news for canning water in their “beer cans” and sending it to Flint, Michigan, who were devastated with lead in their water. They also aided Puerto Rico, and other U.S. states.
“We moved into recycling, explaining to the public the benefits of aluminum over plastic,” said Diana, “because of the whole outdoor culture in Lyons. Also, we did some musical events, like distributing instruments to underserved kids, because of Lyons music culture. And, we used our connection with the beer culture to raise money. We expanded into building bikes, and three years later, into making skateboards for at-risk kids who didn’t have any.”
Since its inception Can’d Aid has donated more than 3.1 million cans of water, 16,400 skateboards and bikes, 3,500 instruments, and diverted the equivalent of 73 million aluminum cans to communities across the nation. This is with the help of over 28,500 volunteers. It is now a fully independent and publicly funded nonprofit.
Their 10th anniversary event August 10th offers opportunities for people to help build bikes, skateboards and assembling art kits – all benefitting underserved youth in Denver – before the live music and party. They hope to raise $20,000.
“The whole premise was to give the opportunity to people to have a great time and do some good, leaving with a feeling or experience of doing good, and thinking that next time I’ll bring a friend,” said Diana. “This has become a national organization, and it is beyond what I imagined… beyond just operating in Colorado.”
