12/16/11 – CAF Member Holiday Service Opportunity: Giving is Receiving
by Rachel MondragonWebsite Manager, The Colorado Trust
The Colorado Association of Funders provided The Colorado Trust and other foundations the opportunity to volunteer their time at a variety of local nonprofit agencies for the third consecutive year. On Friday, Dec. 9, staff from The Trust, Rose Community Foundation and the Anschutz Foundation spent a day at The Gathering Place, a day shelter whose mission is to support women and children experiencing homelessness or poverty by providing a safe daytime refuge and resources for self-sufficiency. They were also a grantee of The Trust’s Expanding Outreach and Enrollment for Children and Youth program which actively worked to identify and enroll eligible but uninsured children and youth in Medicaid and CHP+ from 2008 through this year.
The Gathering Place Vice President of Development Brenda Roush led a fascinating tour of their amazing facility, educating us about their many impressive programs. We thank Brenda and her colleagues Vice President of Volunteer Resources Justine Zollo and Volunteer Resources Communications Manager Lydia Rodriguez for arranging such a wonderful and meaningful volunteer experience for us. We were also particularly taken with Food Services Manager Ian Wynn who demonstrated extraordinary patience in leading us through our tasks for the day, and who also so passionately cares for the people The Gathering Place serves. We helped prepare and serve lunch, and most importantly, had lunch and good conversation with the clients. Being a part of their community for the day and serving others was a true gift, and we were the real recipients.
I look forward to sharing this experience with my colleagues annually. It gets us out of the office and into the community to work side-by-side with fellow Coloradans who are often struggling with the challenges our foundations are working to address. For those of us who work at foundations, it puts our work into a whole new perspective for us, making it tangible. It puts us in touch with real people dealing with real issues that effect their health and well-being. In doing so, we each walk away with new inspiration for doing our jobs to the best of our abilities each and every day. Thank you again to both The Gathering Place and to the Colorado Association of Funders for providing us with this special experience.
View the slideshow below:
