HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
A LOVE FOR SERVICE Joanne Pike’s journey to the mountains and mentoring BY EMILY SHOFF
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aged to pull it off. The day she received her dog, Bella, we threw a wonderful party at a park with cake, balloons and an ice cream truck.” In addition to donating time as a wish-giver, Pike worked as a camp counselor with her elder son at a camp in North Carolina for children with cancer. “It was one of the most meaningful experiences of our lives. To see my own son helping other children with cancer. I think it was then I knew service would always be a part of my life.”
When Pike moved to Telluride, she missed her involvement with Make-A-Wish, prompting her to reach out to One to One Mentoring. “I was so impressed with the One to One organization right from the get-go. Everyone involved is committed to making sure the matches are perfect, and the kids have a tremendous experience,” Pike says, highlighting the nonprofit’s reputation for carefully (and shrewdly) matching mentors and mentees. Pike and her husband recently purchased a second home in Paradise Valley, outside of Scottsdale, Ariz., and explains that although she and her family head there during off-season, Telluride is still their primary home. “This is always the place I want to come back to.”
‘WE WAKE UP EVERY DAY SO GRATEFUL THAT WE’RE HERE.’ J oanne P i ke
Melissa Plantz
oanne Pike never thought she’d end up in Telluride. A Virginia native, she grew up spending summers on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But when a snow storm kept her and her family on an extended spring break trip in Telluride in 2008, they ended up buying a place at the Peaks Resort and Spa in Mountain Village. “Bobbi Brown had kindly lent us her vacant house while we sorted out return flights,” Pike says of their accidental delay. “There were bikes and a sauna and the weather was gorgeous. I kept saying to my husband, ‘I never want to leave.’ ” For the next several years, the Pikes shuttled back and forth from their home in Raleigh, N.C., but when her husband retired in 2016, they bought a house in Ski Ranches and moved to the area. “It’s where we’d always wanted to be. We wake up every day so grateful that we’re here.” One of Pike’s favorite parts of Telluride is the community. For several years, she has been involved in One to One Mentoring, a youth mentoring nonprofit that connects kids in San Miguel County and the West End of Montrose County with a mentor. For the past two years, Pike has been mentoring a local teen. “It’s such a thrill to watch these kids grow up, to be a part of their lives in a meaningful way.” Pike’s commitment to service stems from her years of work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the organization that provides wishes to children who are facing life-threatening diseases. Pike says that one of her best memories from her work with Make-A-Wish came when she was a wish-giver. “One of the most meaningful wishes I have granted was for a young girl with a seizure disorder that caused her to go blind. She wanted a service dog which can cost up to $44,000, but the average wish is $7,500. Somehow, we man-
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