GOLDEN — A community volunteer project in Golden has grown to more than 400 volunteers, is considered “a bedrock for Golden” by the mayor and is becoming a model for surrounding communities.
“I don’t know of any effort in Golden, or in fact in any city, that is so broad-based and so openhearted really in working in homes that need just a little bit of care,” Golden Mayor Marjorie Sloan said.
when Dan Thoemke, leader of a local faith-based nonprofit, gathered churchgoers to help the owner of a local mobile home park who said he was having a hard time keeping up with the maintenance of his properties where many seniors and people with disabilities live.
An estimated 70 people pitched in that first year, many more than expected. Last year, the flagship weekend event, the Day of Service, attracted more than 400 people. Monthly projects happen throughout the year with around 20 volunteers each month, focused primarily on work that helps keep homes in and near the city safe, warm and dry.
“Last year is where I feel like we totally tipped into a full community endeavor,” said Thoemke, adding that now the numbers are split between members of the faith community and members of the community at large, including other local nonprofits, city employees and businesses.
A few things get credit for the momentum in participation. Thoemke notes that the hands-on work yields tangible results. He also secured liability insurance to allow children to participate in the lighter work, allowing families to volunteer together. Then there’s the eye-catching slogan that tells people to “Be a Tool.”
“Our marketing guy was really brilliant when he came up with the ‘Be a Tool’ campaign,” Thoemke said.
And the group encourages beneficiaries of the projects to volunteer, too.
“I think one of our core values we’re learning in this process is the difference between charity and empowerment,” Thoemke said. “We’re learning to start empowering these homeowners by coming alongside them.”
Such was the case for Laurie Arnold-Kelly, who was a beneficiary of the Neighborhood Rehab Project in 2013 when her home was damaged by September flooding.
She said the extensive damage to her home was not covered by insurance or money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and she feared she would have to leave it.
Volunteers spent nearly nine months refinishing her basement, replacing a well, rebuilding the porch and other repairs, and now Arnold-Kelly said she plans on volunteering on the Day of Service.
“I felt a little bit apprehensive about (receiving help) at first,” she said. “Then I realized that a lot of the people who were helping out had been helped out. That really gives it a community buy-in. It takes that ‘Oh poor me’ element out and makes you feel better about accepting that help.”
The project’s model has attracted the attention of leaders in other nearby cities such as Littleton and Arvada wanting to know how they can introduce something similar to their communities.
Kevin Nichols, Arvada’s senior planner, said he plans to gather faith leaders in his community soon to talk about how they might start their own project.
“Some of the reason it’s appealing to us is we have a lot of older housing and we have a lot of seniors in the community,” Nichols said. “A lot of those people have houses that need some fixing up.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com
Neighborhood rehab project day of service
When: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Volunteers meet at Hillside Community Church, 103 N. Ford St. Register:
