Community Efforts

The Denver Relief GREEN TEAM was the vision of our own Ean Seeb, who wanted a way to extend the charity work he was doing in other areas to medical marijuana. The goal was to show that business owners in our industry were the same as any others, giving back to the communities that support them.

In 2009, he began by organizing friends and patients to help clean up Denver’s Civic Center Park after the annual 4/20 rally. Rallygoers were notorious for leaving behind all manners of trash, and the public perception shifted against them, painting all supporters of cannabis as “squalid” and “disrespectful”. Four years later, the GREEN TEAM spoke to the 4/20 crowd of 50,000+ and handed out over 375 trash bags, with more than 100 volunteers taking up the cause.

Soon, the GREEN TEAM began branching out to other areas of need, hosting wheelchair and bike repair clinics outside of the dispensary during the summer. For patients that already had mobility issues, these simple repairs meant huge increases in their quality of life.

For patients that needed help saving money and cultivating their own marijuana, a series of grow classes were set up with the help of DRC’s Nick Hice to walk patients through each step of the process. While some medical marijuana centers are reticent to disclose any part of their internal processes, the GREEN TEAM put patients first in this regard, sharing tips to maximize yield and reduce costs. This series of five classes soon became so popular that they outgrew our offices and will now be held online.

The GREEN TEAM also takes part in a monthly series of events during the summer at EKAR Farm, which provides fresh, organic vegetables to families in need around the Denver metro area via the Jewish Family Service and Denver Rescue Mission food pantries. Each month has seen increases in the amount of volunteers and, subsequently, work that is being done. Stressing community involvement and social responsibility, parents are encouraged to bring their children to help and a vegetarian barbecue is held at the end of the night. In the first year alone, over 500 pounds of produce were harvested.

Kayvan Khalatbari has served as a mentor through Denver Kids and has started a college fund that he matches dollar for dollar. This means a greater shot at a quality education for the young man he’s been mentoring for years.

In addition, the GREEN TEAM regularly collects winter coats, canned and non-perishable food items, and toys for children in towns struck by natural disasters.

The video below at Ekar Farm features a quick intro from Ean and Kayvan, as well as volunteers talking about their experience at the event:

Want to get involved? Check out our Facebook page or send us an e-mail!