Brother of John Denver trying to hit hopeful note for flagging foundation
Aspen, Colo. ? John Denver’s brother, Ron Deutschendorf, is trying to rekindle interest in the Windstar Foundation the late singer helped found.
After the singer-songwriter died in a plane crash near Monterey, Calif., on Oct. 12, 1997, the Old Snowmass nonprofit organization left the public spotlight.
“It went dormant for three years,” Deutschendorf said.
The Windstar Foundation was founded by Thomas Crum and Denver in 1976 “to inspire individuals to make responsible choices and take direct actions to achieve a peaceful and environmentally sustainable future.”
Its membership has dwindled from 5,000 to 500.
Deutschendorf, who is the foundation’s board president, is refusing to let it die.
“Windstar has not gone away and it’s going to be better than before,” he said. “The job is not done.”
Deutschendorf said the foundation wants to help fight world hunger and bring attention to the environment.
“We can feed 20 people a day with our lifestyle,” he said. “And that’s one reason why we want to keep this going.”
On Friday and Saturday, the foundation will hold its biggest event of the year – the New Choices for Your Future Symposium at the Snowmass Conference Center.
The list of speakers that includes Dr. Jane Goodall, known for her groundbreaking research with chimpanzees, along with Crum.