Giving Guide: Giving Back the Best Way We Know How

As providers of the word, here’s the word on giving. Giving is great. Giving is inspiring. Giving is even better when it directly affects your community. We’ve come up with a collection of Boulder County organizations that are super good do-gooders doing good the best way they know how.

Best of all, they not only offer support and resources to a wide range of individuals, but they also offer the opportunity for you to give back. Our first thought was money; perhaps it was yours as well and understandably so. Money rules. It allows organizations to fund their programs and propels our little world round and round in all the ways, good and bad. That being said, we decided to dig a little deeper and were soon confronted with dozens of other ways to donate beyond the obvious monetary contribution. Highlighting ten local non-profits, we’re providing you with a smorgasbord of different opportunities. Heck yes they’ll accept your hard earned crisp dollar bills as a viable source of change, we’re not going to deny that as a form of giving. However, there are plenty of ways for you to donate your time, skills, and that uniquely awesome, change-initiating creativity. From knitting to writing, from lifting to organizing, from neighborhood food drives to rescuing misfortunate adventurers, there’s something for everyone. So read up and do some good, ya heard?

The Period Pals

Menstrual insecurity is a thing and it’s not talked about enough. Each year women will miss work and/or school because of a lack of feminine hygiene products. Can that possibly be happening in Boulder? Yeah, it can, and yeah, it certainly is. Period Pals is in the business of working to end this by providing yearlong supply hygiene bags through the Boulder Valley School District. They accept monetary donations as well as your time to help them organize these bags. They host a variety of events, including “A Party at Our Pad” and they’re even looking to start a youth coalition to get the Boulder youth involved with solving this problem. Students can also help by spreading awareness and helping to manage the Period Pals social media accounts. If you or your kids are looking for an awesome way to directly solve a local problem, The Period Pals are there to help.

Contact:

periodpalsproject.com
[email protected]

Love for Lily

Each year parents of newborns are faced with the devastating news that for one reason or another their child is being placed into the NICU. Love for Lily is here to support those parents in these troubling times. When a family experiences a trauma community support becomes incredibly necessary. Love for Lily is in the business of inciting awareness of this issue and of the fact that support systems exist.  By providing resources and support groups, families gain an edge on their experience and the tools they need to make their lives a little easier. Love for Lily suggests holding knitting groups to provide blankets and other goods, writing letters of support, sympathy, and comfort, or joining in on one of the many events they host. Your caring words, your knitting skills, and your creativity can all have a direct effect on local families that are struggling. Love for Lily is providing the setting and resources for you to do so.

Contact: 

PO Box 18957, Boulder
(720) 526-2556
lflnicu.org | [email protected]

SOIL – Slow Opportunities for Investing Locally

As a part of the larger Slow Money Institute, SOIL is bringing charitable donations and 0 percent interest loans to fund local and organic food. Working to build a member-driven revolving fund, SOIL is working to alleviate financial barriers that local farms face while also striving for justice and equity in the food system. Voting on who receives the loans is all done by members. Once the loan has been repaid, the money is recycled and granted to a different community member also growing sustainable soil and food. Being a member is one way to get involved and requires a tax-deductible donation of $250 for 12 months. Non-Voting Donations are available and do not have a minimum requirement. There are also specific memberships available to BIPOC or LGBTNB serving organizations or individuals working to alleviate forms of societal injustice. Realizing how powerful this project has been is clearly evident, just ask Black Cat Farm, the first recipient of a zero percent interest loan.

Contact:
slowmoney.org/local-groups/soil 

Martyred Angels

John Wayne Vogels started Martyred Angels in 2012 after his three-year-old son tragically passed in 2011. Since then, Martyred Angels has grown to provide families with support after experiencing the loss of a child. Experiencing a trauma as a family puts an incredible amount of strain on a family’s ability to stay together. Divorce, suicide attempts and successes, mental health problems, homelessness, and loss of work are all problems that families may face when they lose a child. One of the most vital resources for these families is external support from friends, family, and their community. Martyred Angels is working to provide that. What’s more, they’ve partnered with Spirit Horse Therapy and Training to provide families with equine therapy. According to John, the successes have been tremendous. Currently they are looking for donations to provide families with the monetary resources for this therapeutic process.

Contact:
Boulder, Colorado
martyredangelsfoundation.org

Attention Homes

Having helped over 12,000 young individuals, Attention Homes is fighting youth homeless in our community by providing prevention, intervention, and solutions. They work with the youth from the moment they are facing homelessness to the day they are able to care for themselves. By providing programs, shelters, an outreach program, and case management services, Attention Homes gives young people the tools they need to live a successful and independent life. How can you help? Donate, volunteer your time, or join them on March 1st 2020 for their (Denver) ‘Nuggets Night Out’ where $5 of every ticket bought using their promo code will be donated. They even offer internships.

Promo code for Nuggets Night Out: NUGATTENTIONHOMES

Contact:
1443 Spruce St., Boulder, CO
303.447.1206
attentionhomes.org

Boulder Emergency Squad

Boulder Emergency Squad (BES) is a 100% volunteer-run organization providing local emergency agencies mutual aid support for a variety of technical emergency situations. Founded in 1963, BES works hard to provide help with and execute Swift Water Rescues, Wildland Firefighting, Evidence Collecting, and even Unmanned Arial Systems searches, just to name a few. In 2018, BES had 94 incidents, 140 exercises, and 51 active members. There are three main ways for you to get involved: become a Rescuer, an Adjunct Rescuer, or volunteer for the business side of things. As a Rescuer, you would be heavily trained to successfully perform in the field while responding to emergency and non-emergency incidents. Adjunct Rescuers are individuals with specific skills that supplement rescue operations. Roles that are needed to maintain the non-profit include, Vehicle Maintenance, Accounting, Finance, IT, Grant Writing, Marketing and many more. BES is out there saving lives and keeping our community safe and they need your help!

Contact:
3532 Diagonal Highway, Boulder, CO 80301
303.443.4081
boulderrescue.org

A Woman’s Work

A Woman’s Work is helping women in the St. Vrain Valley whose immediate needs aren’t being immediately met. Often times a traumatic event, such as the death of a partner or child, or a serious and/or terminal illness leads to the loss of work, loss of housing, an inability to care for oneself or others, the inability to pay bills and so on. By helping to provide assistance with the many aspects of a woman’s daily life when facing trying times of grief, tragedy, or hardship, A Woman’s Work is giving women that chance to overcome and triumph. Want to help? Donate, volunteer, or shop at Fabulous Finds Upscale Consignment in Longmont where 60% goes back to A Woman’s Work. A Woman’s Work is working hard to get women in the local area out of certain financial burdens. Your help can make all the difference.

Contact:  P.O. Box 817, Longmont, CO 80502
(303) 827-7085  | awomanswork.org
[email protected]

SafeHouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence

With 40 years of community commitment and over 8,700 crisis hotline calls responded to in 2018, SafeHouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN) is working hard to address domestic violence. Even here in beautiful Boulder County, domestic violence is a real and serious occurrence that should not be happening. You can do your part by volunteering to join one or several of their many volunteer roles. One example is the Domestic Abuse Response Team that is responsible for reaching out to officers and victims of every incident of domestic violence that is responded to. Others include volunteering for the Children’s Group, as a Court Advocate, or with the Crisis Line. Certain roles require a 33-hour Paraprofessional Anti-Violence Training that SPAN will be hosting in February. Other roles do not require training.

Contact: 
835 North Street, Boulder, CO 80304
303.449.8623
safehousealliance.org

Harvest of Hope Pantry and Sister Carmen

Working to alleviate the stress that comes from food insecurity, Harvest of Hope Pantry and Sister Carmen are providing members of our community with supplemental food and support to help families experiencing difficult times. Helping is easy with many different ways to do so. Money buys food, helps the organizations run, and funds events and programs that local families need. Volunteering allows the food banks to run. Taking on a role as a Shopping or Inventory Assistants or as the Check-In Desk Volunteers for Harvest of Hope Pantry helps to make sure the pantry is ready to serve. Sister Carmen has a thrift store and a community garden; both supporting their mission and are dependent on volunteer support. If you’re looking to host an event and get other members of the community involved, holding a food drive is a great way to do so. Food drives come in varied sizes, big and small, but tend to be held by larger groups. That certainly doesn’t mean you can’t organize your friends and family and get one going. Both organizations are there to help and need your help. Come and be a part of creating and maintaining food security in our community!

Contact:
2960 Valmont Road, Boulder, CO 80301
720.382.1971
 hopepantry.org

Autism Society of Boulder

Working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families, Autism Society of Boulder (ASBC) has been supporting local families by providing educational, recreational, and other opportunities since 2001. Everything from online groups to monthly events and skill development, the programs are vast and the direct impact on our community is evident. Providing the ability for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to grow, build community, and develop their interests is huge and important. Best part is you can get involved. Here’s how. Monetary donations? Yes. Volunteering? Yes. Events? Sponsoring? Administrative help? Yes, yes, and yes. Here’s the breakdown: Monetary means make a huge difference. They fund the organization and are spent on things like grants, programs, and events. Volunteering looks a lot like you giving your time to help specific programs run, such as iCan Shine Bike Clinic or the Airborne Open Gym. You could be a support group moderator, help with social media and marketing, or even join the Board of Directors.

Contact:
1905 15th Street #4909, Boulder, CO 80306
 720-272-8231 | autismboulder.org