Category Archives: Organization Highlights
Welcome Sidekicks for Sight Puppy Club!
Sidekicks for Sight Puppy Club is a new member of Volunteer Connect Douglas County and is actively posting volunteer opportunities.
Sidekicks for Sight is a puppy raising club for Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB). They raise puppies for about a year before they go in for formal guide work training.
Interested in becoming a puppy raiser? Puppies are placed in raiser homes when they are about 8 weeks old, and they return to a GDB campus for formal training when they are between 13 and 15 months old. Puppy raisers are responsible for teaching their puppies good manners and basic obedience. The club meets twice a month to work on specific skills and support raisers through the process. They also meet once a month for a socialization outing. No special training is needed; all training and support is provided.
If you aren’t able to commit to raising a puppy full time, or if a year is too much, there are still other ways to get involved. You could “start” a puppy from about 8 weeks until about 5 months, finish a “transfer” puppy, co-raise a puppy with another raiser, or be a puppy sitter. There are many ways you can get involved!
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Sidekicks for Sight, click here.
Welcome Colorado HorsePower!
Colorado HorsePower is now a member of Volunteer Connect Douglas County and is actively posting volunteer opportunities.
Colorado HorsePower, Inc. is a nonprofit therapeutic riding center which began in 1984 with a vision of supporting elementary children in the Castle Rock schools. Since then HorsePower has grown to work with children and adults with disabilities, and offers therapeutic riding. They are committed to meeting the needs of mentally, emotionally, and physically challenged children and adults by bringing the therapeutic power of horses and horsemanship to their students. Their mission is to provide a place for students where they gain a sense of freedom and independence, experience accomplishments, interact socially and learn new skills in a pleasurable environment. This is empowering not only the life of the rider, but the entire family.
Without volunteers, they could not operate their program. Colorado HorsePower offers many volunteer opportunities and horse experience is not needed. To learn more about Colorado HorsePower and their volunteer opportunities click here.
HRCA Volunteers of the Month
July volunteers of the month for the Therapeutic Recreation (TR) program at Highlands Ranch Community Association are the Basketball Coaches that helped in May and June. This program has grown thanks to the selfless efforts of a number of dedicated individuals. Many have been with TR basketball for over four years. They represent a wide age-range including students, working professionals, and retirees. When asked what keeps them coming back, they cite love of the athletes and love of the game. This program would not be possible without their help. Many thanks to these volunteers who bring so much joy to the participants!
Join the Slick Science Family!
Slick Science has been a successful program at Douglas County Libraries for over 18 years. The program teaches science literacy with hands on activities for kids and families to enjoy.
To pack in as many experiments as possible, we rely on our dedicated volunteers to help guide and teach simple science concepts to our patrons. Past volunteers have ranged from having an interest in science, to no science experience at all, but all have a desire to help in our community. Volunteers learn these themed science concepts and practice the experiment shortly before the program begins. During the program, they have fun demonstrating and helping our young scientists learn useful science that will enrich their lives. Without the help of our volunteers, the Slick Science program would not be able to reach as many families with fun science and interesting hands on experiments every month. In particular, two volunteers have been with the program for about 10 years! Jim and Pam know Slick Science so well that they can jump in and help wherever needed. Their knowledge is outstanding, they are always able to share a good laugh with the program’s attendees. We’d love to find more volunteers that would like to follow their lead and join our Slick Science family!
Welcome Advocates for Children CASA!
Advocates for Children CASA is now a member of Volunteer Connect Douglas County and is actively posting volunteer opportunities on the portal.
Advocates for Children CASA works to make sure that all children dream, thrive, and grow with a sense of belonging and empowerment to build a successful future. The organization recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers who advocate for children who have open dependency & neglect cases, truancy cases, need additional education advocacy, or are an adolescent that may need some additional support. Our compassionate Court Appointed Special Advocates, volunteers, and mentors speak up for these children’s’ best interests.
Advocates for Children needs your help to ensure they continue to grow and support the children in our community by having enough volunteers to operate effectively. You don’t have to be a CASA to help. Talk to other people in your life and spread the word. Share this information with anyone who is looking to get involved in their community. Lift up a Child’s Voice and make a difference today.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Advocates for Children CASA, click here.
Welcome Douglas/Elbert Task Force!
Douglas/Elbert Task Force is now a member of Volunteer Connect Douglas County and is actively posting volunteer opportunities on the portal.
The Douglas/Elbert Task Force is a human service organization that endeavors to meet the immediate needs of residents of Douglas and Elbert counties who are in financial distress and/or at risk of becoming homeless. Staff and volunteers help residents through troublesome times with dignity. Their motto is – Help & Hope Here!
Volunteerism is the key to the daily operations at the Task Force. Since 1984 people have given freely of their time to help their neighbors in need. Currently there are over 200 volunteers who work at the Task Force and this enables the majority of annual expenditures to go directly to their clients. Less than 8% of expenses are spent on general and administrative costs.
Do you have about 10 hours a month to give to help someone in need? Do you like administrative work? Perhaps you enjoy handyman repairs and maintenance work? Are you passionate about working in a thrift store, driving to pick up food donations, and/or helping at a Food Bank? The Task Force has many volunteer opportunities to choose from that accomodate most everyone’s schedule. Get involved, get connected and consider becoming a volunteer at Douglas/Elbert Task Force.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Douglas/Elbert Task Force, click here.
DCL Trivia Night for Volunteers
During National Volunteer Appreciation Week, Douglas County Libraries Director Bob Pasicznyuk welcomed a large audience at their annual volunteer appreciation event. The cruise-themed evening featured ‘Trivia Night’ aboard the Lido Deck. The library district celebrates its volunteers with a districtwide event every year in which volunteers across all seven libraries can mingle and feel the impact of being a part of a larger team and vision.
“I would like to thank Douglas County Libraries for the awesome event they held for all their volunteers,” shared Joyce Kramer, a library volunteer for the adult literacy program. “I attended with my husband, and we both had a great evening. We had really nice guests at our table, and we held our own for the Trivia game – a strong 4th place! The food was delicious. It was a very nice ‘Thank You’ for all the volunteers and I greatly appreciated it!”
Welcome Rosie’s Ranch!
Rosie’s Ranch is a new member of Volunteer Connect Douglas County and is actively posting volunteer opportunities. Rosie’s Ranch is a non-profit therapeutic riding facility in Parker, Colorado for children with and without special needs. Volunteers are the backbone of the organization and help make it possible to provide riding lessons, summer camp and birthday party opportunities for children.
Their mission is to provide a family centered atmosphere where children with deafness or oral language challenges will expand their listening, verbal & reading skills by engaging in activities with horses under the guidance of a highly trained and qualified staff.
Perhaps you’re a teacher off for the summer or you have a passion for horsemanship, horse anatomy, and working with children. Maybe you’re looking to complete your high school community service hours for graduation requirements. Match your passion with one of the many volunteer opportunities at Rosie’s Ranch and make a difference in your community.
To learn more about Rosie’s Ranch and their volunteer opportunities click here.
Escape Room at DCL
Volunteers are a key ingredient to the success of the Escape Room at DCL! The Castle Rock library will be hosting an Escape Room for the community called “Make Your Escape!” Gold lies at the altar of the Temple of the Serpent and Professor Triton went missing trying to find it. Participant teams will have timed entries to spend an hour trying to solve the mystery and if successful, claim their reward at the end.
Volunteers help the staff creators of this event by creating custom jungle decorations on a grand scale and by doing a trial of the Escape Room as a participant, working with other volunteers and staff members to find clues and solve the puzzles. They then provide valuable feedback so staff members can refine the experience for the real event on March 24th. On event day volunteers will transform a meeting room into a jungle and serve as costumed guides while library patrons test their powers of logic, deduction and observation in the Escape Room.
Volunteering with Douglas County Libraries provides myriad ways to get involved and have fun while supporting Douglas County Libraries’ mission to elevate the community by creating a love of reading, discovery and connection. Make your escape to the library and see what amazing discoveries await you! Click here to find volunteer opportunities at Douglas County Libraries.
Human Book Volunteer
Be a Human Book Volunteer at the Human Library™ event in September! Douglas County Libraries (DCL) is hosting a Human Library™ event that allows members of an increasingly-diverse community to volunteer by sharing their stories in an open and respectful manner to build compassion and understanding.
The Human Library™ is designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices and to provide inspiration through dialogue and sharing.
DCL is accepting volunteer applications from adults 18 and over who live or work in Douglas County and would like to share an aspect of their life experience with others in their community. The Human Library™ event will be held on September 23 at the Philip S. Miller Branch (Castle Rock) Douglas County Library. Register Here
Learn more about volunteering at an information session on Sunday March 18, from 1-3:30 pm at the Philip S. Miller Library. Or email HumanLibraryDCL@dclibraries.org.
