For National Volunteer Month, United Way of Larimer County with the help of our wonderful volunteers were able to complete numerous projects for our community. United Way of Larimer County's goal is to bring more community volunteers and organizations to help children and families in our community.

United Way of Larimer County's 2017 National Volunteer Month Highlights:

1. Volunteer Project Leaders

United Way of Larimer County coordinates Volunteer Project Leader projects twice a year- once in April for National Volunteer Month and once in October for Make A Difference Day. The Volunteer Project Leader program is for anyone interested in being recruited and trained to work directly with local nonprofit organizations to plan a one-time volunteer project. Volunteer Project Leaders can help make a project run smoothly and help a nonprofit organization fulfill its need for supplies, volunteers and resources.

• We had 19 United Way Volunteer Project Leaders, including 10 first time leaders who helped plan and coordinate 17 high-impact projects for local nonprofits!
• These Volunteer Project Leaders showed great leadership and expanded their impact by recruiting 177 volunteers to help with these projects. In total, volunteers gave 702 hours of service, amounting to over $16,500!
• Their efforts combined helped nonprofits build trails and book shelves, do some deep cleaning and painting projects, and other helpful projects.

2. General Volunteer Opportunities

• During National Volunteer month we had 45 one time and ongoing volunteer opportunities, engaging volunteers with 30 local nonprofit organizations.

If you are interested in volunteering click the button below to find volunteer opportunities.

3. Community Poverty Simulation

• On April 18^th over 40 community members attended a community-wide poverty simulation hosted by United Way of Larimer County and the Coloradan.
• Big Thank you and Shout out to the Drake Centre/Columbine Health Systems for donating their event space, Jimmy Johns, Chick-Fil-A, and Texas Roadhouse for donating food, and Sarah Kyle for facilitating!

4. Board Bank Training

Through our Board Bank Program, we pair volunteers with a variety of board opportunities based on volunteer interests and the needs of local nonprofits.

• This April, 11 individuals were trained on how to serve on a nonprofit board of director to join in leading of our community’s organizations.

5. Colorado Business Reads Book Drive

• This year, 15 businesses and 28 boxes were spread throughout our community to collect books helping to create additional opportunities to support childhood literacy and education.
• These books were sorted by AmeriCorps members after the Pancake Breakfast and will be distributed in the upcoming weeks to our Community Impact Partners that work directly with youth and families.

6. National Volunteer Month Pancake Breakfast

The National Volunteer Month Pancake Breakfast over the weekend was exceptionally great. Thank you to Human Bean for your delicious coffee and The Fort Collins Lions Club for providing a pancake breakfast and telling funny jokes as people waited in line.

7. Volunteer Hero Award Winners

At the yearly pancake breakfast that wraps up National Volunteer Month, we awarded the volunteer hero awards.

The Education award recognizes an individual or group who has made Larimer County stronger by volunteering in ways that help youth succeed in school and life.

The Financial Stability award recognizes an individual or group who has made Larimer County stronger in ways that help individuals and families become financially stable and self-sufficient.

The Basic Needs award recognizes an individual or group who has made Larimer County stronger in ways that help individuals become more stable by addressing basic needs including making a difference through disaster relief and recovery, and empowering seniors and individuals living with disabilities to live productive. healthy lives.

The Corporate Volunteerism Award recognizes a company that has made Larimer County stronger through innovation, collaboration, and leadership through volunteerism related to Education, Financial Stability, and Basic Needs.

Congratulations to these hard working and dedicated volunteers and organizations and thank you to all volunteers for dedicating your time, skills and expertise in small and big ways.

Education Hero Award Winner: Poudre River Friends of the Library

Friends of the Library are an all volunteer group. They help fund educational cultural programming for all ages, including Native American History Month, Black History Month, Women's History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Dia de los Muertos, Asian Festival and world story times. They are also the main funder for Summer Reading Program that helps keep kids reading skills sharp over summer vacation.

Financial Stability Hero Award Winner: Rocky Motter with Faith Family Hospitality

Faith Family Hospitality's mission is to support families experiencing homelessness to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency in a timely and dignified manner. This interfaith volunteer effort coordinates the work of 30 diverse Fort Collins faith communities and many partner agencies. Together, we provide for the full range of emergency and stabilizing services needed for our guest parents and children to become self-sufficient.

Basic Needs Hero Award Winner: Robert Allen with PVH/UCHealth

Robert Allen has volunteered in the Emergency Room since March 2006 and to this date has contributed 6,000 hours. Robert is the team leader volunteer and trains new student volunteers. Not only does he train new students but he also developed the training guide .

"We rise by lifting others." - Robert Allen

Corporate Volunteerism Hero Award Winner: The Group Real Estate, Inc.

At The Group, Inc. each volunteer volunteers 108 hours annually and together they volunteer 21,600 hours annually. The Group, Inc. provides brand new bicycles and helmets to children for their Christmas on Wheels event. They most recently have been giving to children of single mothers through Project Self-Sufficiency.

National Volunteer Month is now over but together we accomplished so many projects for our community. We were able to help local nonprofit organizations through our Volunteer Project Leader program and general volunteer opportunities. We helped collect books for the youth and families in our community. Together we are making Larimer County stronger by lending a helping hand when we can. Thank you to everyone who volunteered for National Volunteer Month.

			Jasmine Saucedo Jasmine is the marketing and communications intern for United Way of Larimer County. She enjoys planning themed birthday parties for her kids and family.