Awards, Contests, and Medals
Community Service Awards are presented to outstanding individuals who volunteered in a way that improved our Colorado Springs area. The 2017 winner of this award volunteers her time at Evergreen Cemetery by gardening, trimming around the cemetery, and placing grave markers back to their original positions. She and other volunteers dress in period costumes while telling stories about famous people buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
The DAR Good Citizens program is a wonderful way to recognize and reward outstanding high school seniors in our community. The program and scholarship contest is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship (dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities). The chapter narrows the applicants down to four outstanding students before selecting the final winner.
ROTC Medals are awarded to student cadets of outstanding ability and achievement in high school, junior college, college, or university ROTC programs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
Commemorative Events
Constitution Week is the commemoration of America’s most important document. It is celebrated annually during the week of September 17-23. The aims of the Constitution Week celebration are to:
- Emphasize citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the U.S. Constitution,
- Inform people that the Constitution is the basis for America’s great heritage and the foundation for our way of life, and
- Encourage the study of the historical events which led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787.
During Constitution Week, chapter members provide bookmarks bearing the Preamble to the Constitution to several Colorado Springs schools. More information can be found on the Constitution Week page of the National DAR website or by contacting our chapter regent using the Contact Us form.
We are especially excited about July 2026, as the United States will mark its 250th anniversary. Happy 250th Birthday, America!! Our members are proud to be descendants of those patriots who fought so hard to win independence.
Our Kinnikinnik Chapter participates in the annual Veterans Day Parade held in downtown Colorado Springs. Members often dress in Revolutionary War period costumes or in patriotic clothing. Marching along with our veterans is an honor and very humbling. Colorado Springs has many veterans, as well as active duty personnel.
We also recognize and honor Vietnam veterans by sharing Certificates of Honor as a U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration. Members of the chapter continue to thank our veterans for their service.
Community Service
A baby shower provided baby blankets, diapers, tops and bottoms, and other items for American Indian children. The donations were delivered to Colorado Springs-based non-profit, One Nation Walking Together, who transported them to reservations across several states.
Dream Center Women’s Clinic of Colorado Springs patients received cosmetic bags filled with toiletries, cosmetics, and hygiene items. Forty cosmetic bags were distributed to the patients.
Emergency responders working at area fire stations receive home-baked cookies every year on 9/11 as a “thank you” to them for keeping our community safe. Several of our members were impacted by the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest fires and we understand how vital these emergency responders are for the safety and security of our communities.
Our Girls State winner attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in June. Girls State is a participatory educational program on the study of state government. The participants organize into political parties and hold elections; they operate their government the same as our own state government.
Homeless veterans with families enjoyed a homemade dinner prepared by chapter members. Casseroles, salads, and desserts were appreciated very much!
We also wrote letters to veterans to open on the airplane on their way back from an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., thanking them for their service and dedication.
Literacy promotion is vital to the future of our nation. Our chapter members donated money for CASA of the Pikes Peak Region to receive 25 new children’s books. This year we will be working with a local school to read with children in the library.
McCandless Veterans Home received money and gifts from our chapter. The veterans use the money for haircuts, clothing, and personal items. Our chapter understands some of the needs of the men and women who have served our country.
Fort Carson’s Soldier Family Care Program received a monetary gift from our chapter.
Scholarships
Chapter
Kinnikinnik Chapter, NSDAR, members participate in an annual scholarship auction to raise money for a scholarship. We raise over $500 for the scholarship by participating in our annual auction. In our auction, members wrap unmarked gifts to be auctioned off during a meeting. We never know what will be in the next wrapped gift on the auction block and it’s always fun for the members to be surprised by what they get and it is always appreciated by the winner of the scholarship!