DANIELS FUND

Denver

News: Step Denver, a nonprofit residential treatment facility that offers a path to recovery for men whose addiction to drugs and/or alcohol has caused them to lose everything, is the recipient of the first Medal of Excellence presented by the Daniels Fund. A $250,000 gift accompanies the award.

Step Denver’s chief executive officer, Paul Scudo, and executive director, Meghan Shay, accepted the award presented at the Salute to Excellence reception held Jan. 10 at Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

“Whew, this is going to take me a minute,” said an emotional Scudo as he took a deep breath to compose himself after Daniels Fund president/CEO Hanna Skandera announced that Step Denver was the award’s inaugural recipient.

Climb Wyoming and the Gold Crown Foundation also were considered for the award and were each awarded $100,000.

Since 1986, Climb Wyoming has worked with single women who, according to CEO Katie Hogarty, “Are at the worst places in their lives and looking for hope.” Climb Wyoming’s goal, she said, is to break the cycle of generational poverty for the women and their children by providing job training and placement that leverages confidence, social capital and community connections.

The Gold Crown Foundation offers affordable and impactful sports and educational programs that executive director Bill Hanzlik said “Prepares kids for the game of life.”

Scudo, who became Step Denver’s CEO in 2023, spent 27 years in senior management positions for leading global hospitality companies before addiction consumed him and he became homeless for two years. Prior to joining Step Denver as director of programs in 2015, Scudo had worked for the University of Colorado’s CeDAR Addiction Treatment Facility.

Step Denver, Scudo said, is a “Pure community recovery program” that provides the tools, resources and community necessary to maintain sobriety, rebuild lives and relationships and return to society as contributing citizens. “Seventeen of our 22 employees are graduates of Step Denver, and they use their life experience to show (our clients) what’s possible. We want to help as many men as we can.”

Skandera praised Step Denver for turning challenges into opportunities, serving as a model and raising the bar for other organizations dedicated to addiction recovery.

Addressing the 520 guests, Margaret Kelly, chair of the Daniels Fund grants committee, noted that prior to his death in 2000, Bill Daniels created the organization to “Give back to the people who he believed contributed to his success.” As a result, Kelly said, Daniels’ “Huge heart and incredible generosity has enabled our grant partners to move the needle forward on things that were so important to him … things that are life-changing for the communities they serve.”

Skandera added: “If Bill Daniels were here tonight, he’d be so proud because all of you have committed to make a difference in your communities.”

About the organization: The Daniels Fund, founded by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming through its grants program, scholarship program and ethics initiative. In 2023 alone, the Daniels Fund awarded $54 million to some 350 nonprofit partners whose work focuses on areas that were priorities in Daniels’ life, including aging, addiction, youth sports, disabilities, education and ethics. Since its founding in 2000, the Daniels Fund, which neither solicits nor accepts donations, has awarded more than $1 billion in grants and scholarships.

Website: danielsfund.org

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