As the cannabis industry continues to create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship, businesses’ contributions to charitable causes have increased heavily. For nearly a decade, cannabis businesses have been giving back to their communities and The Clinic is no exception. Last week at Arrowhead Golf Club, The Clinic held its ninth-annual Clinic Charity Classic.
Last year, the event raised $116,000—and this year they topped that number before the tournament even started. In his opening remarks, CEO Ryan Cook announced that $200,000 of their $250,000 goal had already been met.
Thanks to the proceeds, The Clinic continues to be the largest donor for Denver Walk MS, which is hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Every May, Denverites gather in City Park for a 5K run and with an average of 10,000 runners each year, Denver’s walk is one of the largest in the country.
The Clinic Charity Classic has benefited the National Multiple Sclerosis Society every single year, partly because the dispensary’s history is rooted in the cause. The first 23 employees of The Clinic all became friends at the University of Colorado together and originally got together every August to play golf in celebration of Cook’s birthday. One of the employees, Jay, would also invite the group to walk the MS Run with him every year in honor of his father, who died from the disease.
In 2010, Cook decided to merge the two passions and host a charity golf tournament for multiple sclerosis through The Clinic and invite other cannabis brands to come together for the cause.
Heather Salisbury, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s manager of healthcare provider engagement for Colorado and Wyoming, spent the day talking to sponsors and golfers and was surprised to find