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Please Support our Youth Green Team on Colorado Gives Day!
Join thousands of other people and businesses to make December 6th the biggest day of philanthropy in Colorado history!. This year, all of the funds we raise on Colorado Gives Day will support our Green Team youth program. Please make a year-end contribution to Groundwork Denver. You can
schedule your donation today for Colorado Gives Day!
AmeriCorps VISTA - Not Your Typical Volunteer
VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America. For the past two years Groundwork Denver has been fortunate to partner with Colorado Youth Corps Association which places VISTA members throughout the state to help organizations build their capacity.
Farewell
Felicia Sheumaker joined Groundwork Denver as a VISTA in the fall of 2009. She brought her graphic design skills to our organization and brought us into the social networking age. Felicia worked on branding and on the development of both electronic and printed materials. We wish Felicia the best as she continues to use her passion and skills to make a difference.
Welcome
Charles Madsen knew that after college he wanted to focus on service before applying to grad school and looked to VISTA for options. Charles just joined Groundwork Denver to assist us strengthen our youth employment and energy outreach projects through evaluation. We're excited to have Charles on board.
Watch Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Roll!
Every second that a CFL is used instead of an incandescent bulb, energy is saved and greenhouse gas emissions are avoided. With the pro bono help
TechScouts we have a second-by-second counter that shows our impacts.
Click Here to see the results! (It takes a few seconds to load up). At this moment, we are at:
3,539,293 lbs reduced
By the time you look at it, the number will be higher!
Fall Fundraising Bash
Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Fall Fundraising Bash on October 5. We hope you all had a wonderful time and enjoyed learning more about our programs and partners. We can't wait to see you all again next fall!
Thanks Tennyson Street Businesses!
Thanks to the following businesses for offering incentives to
Strive to Not Drive participants::
Berkeley Community Acupuncture
Bookery Nook & Ice Cream Parlour
Botticelli Hair Design
Brush & Comb
Cake
MODesTEA
Mouthfuls
My Sweet Bakery
Ooh! Aah! Jewelry
Organic Pizza Company
Planet Pet
Sports Optical
Tenn Street Coffee
Thunderstorm Computers
Trenchtown MMJ
Yankee Trader
Buy Local! Walk, bike or bus to your local businesses this Holiday Season!
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Take Charge! Makes a Difference in the Lives of Students, and Students Make a Difference in their Communities
 So far in 2011, the Take Charge! project has engaged over 600 Student Energy Ambassadors who have created awareness around energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs in their own communities. We have witnessed youth shine after they engage in the project because they have found a tool that allows them to identify problems, come up with a solution and create change. So far, the Student Energy Ambassadors have conducted outreach activities in 27 communities, installing over 5,000 CFL light bulbs and engaging over 20,000 Colorado residents. Through follow up surveys, we've found that many residents have been inspired by the students to insulate and weatherize their homes and to make simple energy-saving behavior changes, collectively saving almost $117,000 on energy bills and reducing CO2 emissions by 867 tons!
Valverde Party on the River
 To encourage use of the South Platte River trail and to build stewardship for the river, Groundwork Denver hosted "Valverde Party on the River".
This family event allowed Valverde neighborhood residents to explore the trail and the nature along the river. Children used plant identification cards and talked with a wildlife expert during the 1.5 mile walk from Valverde Park to Frog Hollow Park. Once we got to Frog Hollow, everyone enjoyed crafts and a healthy dinner. Kids and adults were excited about being physically active and happy to learn about the river ecosystem that exists right in their back yard.
In the next month Valverde residents will be invited to participate in a visioning exercise to explore options for improving access to and safety on the river.
Collaborating to Make Homes Green and Healthy
Mr. and Mrs. Aceves are sleeping warmer and safer thanks to a collaboration between Groundwork Denver, Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) and the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships (DOSP). During the course of an in-home energy audit Groundwork Denver discovered that the water heater in the home was extremely unsafe, producing deadly carbon monoxide. Mr. and Mrs. Aceves, who are in their early 80s and late 70s, live on a limited income and were concerned about how they would afford this unexpected expense. Fortunately, Groundwork Denver staff was able to connect them with DURA's Emergency Home Repair Program as part of the
Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI). GHHI is a collaborative effort convened and hosted by DOSP with the goal of ensuring that all families live in homes that are healthy, safe and energy-efficient.
With help from Groundwork Denver, DURA and DOSP, Mr. and Mrs. Aceves now have a greener and healthier home!
E Source Volunteers Swap out the 10,000th Porch Bulb
 On September 20th, a team of 15 volunteers participating in the annual
E Source Forum swapped out our 10,000th porch light bulb from an incandescent to a CFL! If you've volunteered for the Porch Bulb Project, you know what a huge milestone this is. Each team of two volunteers might knock on 40 doors and change 5 to 10 bulbs. Over 2,000 volunteers have helped us reach the 10,000th bulb! This achievement demonstrates that even small actions can have big impacts when we all get involved.
10,000 bulbs =
$400,000 saved =
4,000 tons of CO2 emissions reduced = 10,000 conversations about how to help people and the planet at the same time!
Groundwork USA Youth Summit: An Evening with Rambo
 The
Groundwork USA Youth Summit at Rocky Mountain National Park was an elk bugling, snow ball throwing, never summer sun setting, and inspirational good time. Youth and leaders from across the country - the Pacific Ocean to the Hudson Valley - came together to work to improve and protect habitat, hike to lakes and ridges, and learn under Longs Peak. We got to know each other better, expanded our national impact and highlighted our accomplishments. The peak experience for me, though, occurred after a long day of work, when an ambitious few of us loaded up two vans and went for a drive with Rambo.
Rambo is like many of the Green Team youth from across the country. He works for a Groundwork organization serving his community. He is a student of color who is at the top of his class. He wants to achieve professionally serving his country. As we scrambled up the rocks. Rambo talked about being homeless with his sister growing up in New York City. He looked around the landscape and spoke of some of the hardship he had overcome and suggested that during that time he had only seen pictures of this type of scene on cereal boxes. He said, "look where I am now".
As a white person who grew up in the suburbs of Seattle and then moved to Colorado for the wonder of the Rocky Mountains, this left a lasting impression on me. Rambo and I were experiencing a similar power and emotion in the visceral setting of nature but we arrived at that moment together from such different life experiences. As the wind gently blew and we stayed by the white van on the edge of the mountain abyss in the lunar tundra landscape at the top of Trail Ridge Road to watch the last sliver of the sun set over the Never Summer Mountains, I cried. - by Shane Wright
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