Winter charity drive at the Niwot Market

One of the most beautiful things about the holiday season is that it is the season of giving. One prominent local business at the forefront of promoting holiday giving is the Niwot Market, which has always conducted winter charity drives and other fundraising events throughout the year.

The Niwot Market has held food drives and sponsored toys for tots during the holidays for years, but this year the focus was different.

"This year we did "Rise Against Suicide," which raised money for children who do not have money to spend on mental health," said owner Bert Steele. "We chose this because mental health is so important and unfortunately very expensive. I think the last few years have been very challenging for everyone and especially young kids. We had a silent auction and a tree set up at the Emporium, so that people could donate too on a QR code. The tree held ornaments with kids' names on it and the name of the toy they wanted for Christmas. We also did a coat drive and have gotten about 20 coats."

In total, the silent auction raised $150. There were about 20 kids' names hanging from the tree and more names were added after the auction ended.

The winter charity drive at Niwot Market ended on Christmas, but if you're still in the spirit of holiday giving, go to http://www.riseagainstsuicide.org.