Local Volunteering
At the start of this year, our family made the best intentions to be more genuine in volunteering our time to different Weld County nonprofits. We always do our best to provide financially, but it always seems more meaningful to lend a helping hand when needed in the communities where we work and live. We tag-teamed so many of these opportunities with our dynamic duo of good friends Casey and Melissa Weiderspan.
United Way of Weld County Cold Winter Shelter (https://www.unitedway-weld.org) Arriving to work in Downtown Greeley each day for the past 20+ years has heightened my awareness of the homelessness situation. I’m always made aware of the homelessness in our community by just opening my blinds in my office and knowing someone was at one point sleeping in my window crevice. One way of being more involved was for us to serve hot meals to others in need at the local cold winter shelter. We were able to get to know many of these patrons by first name or by actually talking to them or overhearing them chatting about their backstory. It is sad to hear about many of the struggles that they have been presented with, but it is also nice knowing that they leave with full stomachs and many can stay warm, in a safe location for the night. (🙌 to the City of Greeley keeping it open over the summer!)
Lutheran Family Services (https://lfsrm.org) I never thought that my family and I could assist a family from a refugee camp from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa ( 🇨🇬 ) I must admit that I was skeptical at first, especially knowing that the parents have six young kids. It has been one of the most rewarding, fulfilling, and heartfelt experiences that we have taken part in with volunteering. We’ve been able to help the family with basic grocery shopping, setting up a bank account, getting them IDs, checking out library cards, washing their basic laundry, helping get them into D6 schools and just assisting with navigating their basic city transportation for their needs.
Exploring the new High Plains LINC library, different City of Greeley parks and having them over for pizza might be some of the most rewarding interactions. Not just for them, but for my kids as well. We found out fast that we weren’t as good as the family playing soccer *cough* football and that McDonald’s french fries and ice cream cones are an international delicacy even for a refugee family that is 8,300 miles away from their homeland. Heck, I even picked up a few basic Swahili greetings.
Weld Food Bank Food Distribution and Mobile Pantry (https://weldfoodbank.org) Always a fun volunteer opportunity for the entire family. We distributed over 200 carts of food in the rain to so many families scraping by for their last meals of the week. I’m always shocked at how many elderly residents are living off of the bare minimum in Weld County and count on this service to eat a meal. The mobile pantry is also a hit for us as we can bag and distribute food at off-site locations such as Salida Del Sol Charter Academy.
We have many other opportunities that we have planned for the remainder of the year. I’ve found out through these simple experiences that practicing gratitude and providing help for even basic needs that we take for granted can spark immense joy in those around you.
Practice gratitude and volunteering, for even the smallest blessings can spark immense joy. 👍
