PHOTOS: Denver Oktoberfest 2017

Bob Roark wears authentic attire from Munich while drinking a beer during Oktoberfest Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 on Larimer Street in Denver. (Daniel Brenner, Special to the Denver Post)

The 48th annual event covers two weekends and draws 350,000 people, earning accolades as one of the best in the U.S. To add an American touch, it included a long dog derby and stein hoisting and brat eating contests. The best part of the festival: the traditional Spaten amber lager Oktoberfest. It takes place on Larimer Street between 20th and 22nd streets.

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Get Involved With A Denver Charity

If you want to donate your time or money and get involved with a cause that you really believe in, you might want to get involved with a charity. There are plenty of charities that need your time and your money and giving just makes you feel good.

When you help others, you feel like your life is getting better at the same time. Giving lifts your spirits and gives you satisfaction that you might not find in your day to day life. Volunteering is also a great way to meet people and find other people who share your values. You might make friends who stick with you for life.

Getting involved with one of the many charities in Denver helps you to set a great example and you can be an inspiration to other people. You can directly impact the lives of the people you are helping and you could also inspire other people to get involved and help as well.

Denver has plenty of charities to get involved in and since Denver has a pretty large homeless population, you might want to consider getting involved with a charity that helps the homeless. You will have to research the different charities and find one that speaks to you. There are plenty of different organizations that you can volunteer with and any one of them is going to give you inspiration.

Even if you have a pretty busy schedule, you can always find time to get involved, even if you are just helping out for a few hours a week. You can be involved as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. Charities are a great way for you to spend your time and when you take the time to get involved with a charity you get a chance to help.

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Terrell Davis partners with Denver charity to honor NFL players who served country

DENVER — Pro football hall of famer Terrell Davis is serving those who serve.

On Tuesday night, Davis kicked off a new partnership with Denver-based charity The Greatest Generations Foundation to honor veterans.

Specifically, it’s for NFL players who have also served the country.

Davis’ new project is called "My Salute to the Fallen." It will be a series of stories showcasing the legacies of service members who fought in the two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam.

"My whole thing, and people know me, I’ve been a big proponent and supporter of the military. Came up with the Mile High Salute many years ago and that’s because of my appreciation of the military and what they’ve done for us," Davis said.

"But you know, there’s a segment of the military that we don’t tend to acknowledge at times, and that’s the World War II veterans and the Vietnam veterans.

"Our whole thing is, we’ve teamed up with The Greatest Generations Foundation to bring out that visibility for those guys who have served and given their lives to our country … to make sure that they’re not forgotten."

The Greatest Generations Foundation is a Denver-based nonprofit that returns war heroes to the battlefields where they once served, and educates young people about the service and sacrifice or our nation’s veterans.

Last month, Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Davis was a running back with the Broncos from 1995 to 2001, is the team’s all-time leading rusher, and helped the Broncos to Super Bowl victories in 1997 and 1998.

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Colorado Charities Prepare For Irma’s Impact

DENVER (CBS4) – The relief effort for victims of Hurricane Harvey has been overwhelming. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated to help the victims in Houston.

As Hurricane Irma inches closer to Florida, many Coloradans are wondering if that relief will run dry as “donation fatigue” sets in.

“Irma victims may come up on our radar soon, but right now were focusing on Harvey,” said Ruben Villarreal, lead pastor of ThornCreek Church.

(credit: CBS)

On Wednesday, Villareal wasn’t sure if he’d get enough donations to fill two trailers donated by American Furniture Warehouse to drive down to Houston. Now, he’s wondering if he’ll need another one. One trailer is full of furniture and appliances and the other is starting to fill up.

(credit: CBS)

“We chose to do something that was tangible,” Villareal said. “This is going to go into the homes of victims from hurricanes.”

The donation drive ends Sunday.

When ThornCreek Church started planning Harvey relief efforts, Hurricane Irma took a backseat. Now she’s a storm driving millions out of Florida.

The furniture in the trailers is still going to Texas, but Villareal says Irma won’t be ignored.

(credit: CBS)

“We have a sister church in Mobile (Alabama) who was inspired by what we’re doing and they’re planning to minister the families impacted by Irma,” explained Villarreal.

The American Red Cross has received thousands of volunteer applications to assist with Harvey, but they say reserving relief is key.

“We had 46 from the Colorado-Wyoming region that went down to Harvey. We also reserved some of our people, some of our vehicles and some of our logistics,” said Ed O’Brien of the American Red Cross.

O’Brien already has 60 volunteers preparing for Irma’s impact, and enough supplies for 120,000 people.

CBS4’s Tori Mason interviews Ed O’Brien. (credit: CBS)

Monetary donations keep Red Cross running, but O’Brien says anything you can contribute counts.

“Whatever you can give. Your time, your money, your prayers. We’ll take it,” said O’Brien.

Additional Resources

To donate to Red Cross hurricane relief visit http://ift.tt/2wPY4mj.

ThornCreek Church in Thornton is accepting gently used furniture and working appliances. They’re sending volunteers to Houston next week to help with cleanup and meal delivery, so cleaning supplies, food, water and monetary donations are also encouraged. You can bring donations to Thorncreek Church’s future location, 14031 Washington St., Thornton, from 8 a.m to 8 p.m through Sunday.

Tori Mason is an award-winning reporter for CBS4 This Morning. Follow her on Twitter @ToriMasonTV.

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Research the charity before making hurricane donations

DENVER – While Hurricane Harvey continues to wreak havoc on parts of southeast Texas, displacing thousands with unprecedented rain and flooding, Coloradans may be wondering what they can do to help with relief efforts.

And a big part of helping is making sure donations get to the right place and to the people who need it most.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has already established the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, which will accept tax deductible flood relief donations.

9NEWS also has a page set up where residents can donate to the American Red Cross, Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

But for those looking to donate to a different charity, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams offered up some tips on checking their legitimacy.

HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 27: A military truck navigates along Interstate 10 which has been inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Photo: Scott Olson, 2017 Getty Images)

These include everything from asking how much of the donation will go to charity to getting the registration number of the charity beforehand.

Williams also suggests paying by check or credit card rather than cash.

You’ll want to make sure the website you visit is the official website of the charity, but beware of lookalike websites — particularly ones that ask for your financial information.

“I’d always encourage people to do that to use their heads and check out the financials,” Chris Cash, Charities Program Manager for the Secretary of State’s Office said. “Be leery of these email solicitations, if you do get a call from somebody that is a paid solicitor for charity, make sure you ask if they’re registered and get the charity’s name they’re soliciting on behalf of.”

Cash said he would suggest contacting the charity directly, confirming with the charity someone is soliciting in their name.

You’re also encouraged to give money to organizations directly and not to individuals through GoFundMe sites. Organizations are doing their best to meet the needs of everyone in the community.

One of the most prominent organizations, the Red Cross, told 9NEWS exactly what our region is doing to help Texans in need.

"More than 80 tractor-trailer loads of cots, blankets, ready-to-eat meals, comfort kits, kitchen supplies and cleaning supplies are now on the ground in Texas," Gino Greco said, Regional Chief Executive Officer of the Red Cross Colorado and Wyoming. "We have shelter supplies for more than 34,000 people, with additional supplies for 18,000 people en route. More than half of our national emergency response fleet – 200 vehicles – have been activated for the operation. All of our local response fleet is either in or on the way to Texas.”

If you’re thinking of sending a check to the Red Cross, make it payable to them, but the organization says those who make checks out to "Harvey" or "Hurricane" or "Texas Floods" will have their funds designated appropriately.

Online, there is also a "Harvey relief" designation option.

Charities who fail to provide information on their mission or how the donation money will be used are another red flag. The Better Business Bureau gave this explainer specific to Hurricane Harvey that you can check out for more details.

Lastly, Williams encouraged donors to use CheckTheCharity.com before making any donations to charities registered in Colorado.

You can read a full list of his tips here.

Want to donate now? Here are a list of vetted organizations to give money to (H/T Forbes):

American Red Cross. To make a financial donation, visit the their website, call 1.800.RED CROSS or text HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation for those in need. Catholic Charities of USA. To make a financial donation, visit CCUSA’s disaster-specific website or text 71777 to make a donation. Global Giving. To make a financial donation, visit their website or text HARVEY to 80100 to donate $10 to Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has established the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund that will accept tax deductible donations. The fund is administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. To make a financial donation, visit the GHCF website. Salvation Army. To make a financial donation, visit http://ift.tt/2xFFp9p, call 1.800.SAL ARMY, or text STORM to 51555.

© 2017 KUSA-TV

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