Follow the Leader

Giselle Nevin-Porter does not seem to remember when or why she got involved with Sister Carmen Community Center.

“I think I was looking for something to do. …I think it was about 8 or 9 years ago,” she said, looking up as if something from above would remind her how she got here. And at that moment, Porter’s husband Russ walks in.

“You wanted to get involved in a community organization because your mother had been so involved in volunteering,” he said with a smile. “And we had a neighbor who volunteered at Sister Carmen, and she suggested you try it out.”

“Well, there you go,” Giselle laughed.

So maybe the why and the when aren’t what matters here. Later, Giselle says for years there was something missing in her life. She had volunteered when she was young—helping her mom who volunteered at Habitat for Humanity. It wasn’t until she found Sister Carmen that she realized she had been craving this sort of outreach.

“It’s so energizing,” she said.

They found Sister Carmen about a decade ago, and Giselle has worked weekly at the organization’s food bank ever since. She’s served on the board for the past five years, and she’s even served as the board’s president. She also takes on big projects for the nonprofit, which helps residents of Lafayette, Louisville, Superior and Erie with food and basic needs. Russ helps out with those special projects too—such as food drives, annual events and fundraisers—and does lots of charity work through his Rotary Club. Russ is also around to give Giselle back rubs after a long day at the food bank. The couple owns an insurance company, so they do the health insurance for Sister Carmen pro bono, and when their daughter was younger, she helped out at the food bank.

For both of them, it comes from an internal drive to give back.

“What I like about volunteering here is that we have a great team of volunteers. We have a wonderful time,” she said. “With the interactions with the clients here, I feel like we can help them realize that they are not alone and that there are people here to help. You can’t get more basic than this: shelter, food, water.”

Russ then takes a crack at it.

“She is definitely the kind of person who is continually giving back to the community,” he said. “She’s always making sure people have the basic needs.”

Being involved with Sister Carmen has helped the couple connect with their community and get to know the people of Lafayette. They know they won’t be able to solve the problems of their sweet east Boulder County town, but they can do something, they say.

“We have a much fuller picture of all aspects of our community,” Russ said.

They estimate that Giselle does about 7 to 10 hours a week of volunteer work for Sister Carmen—including her duties for the board. Russ also admits that Giselle doesn’t throw anything away from their home before considering whether it could go to the Sister Carmen Thrift Store.

“I haven’t told anyone this, but I was walking the dog the other day, and there was a stack of egg cartons in someone’s recycling. I took them back to Sister Carmen so they could use them at the food bank,” Giselle laughed.

She looks a little guilty, but Russ just smiles with pride.

“Giving back is always on her mind,” he said.

The Porters say you don’t have to give hours of your busy week to a charity. Just give what you can: a box of old clothing, a couple bucks here or there, a few empty egg cartons.