Extreme Efforts

Last month, we mentioned that ECM has many goals that we are working toward this year and highlighted the goal of providing incredible volunteer experiences for you through ECM and our partners. The goal we want to share this month is helping you to grow in your understanding of ECM. What does this mean? Simply put, we want you to understand the vision, mission, and long-term goals of ECM as you engage more fully and look at ways to be involved in addition to participating in one day projects.

Take a look at the things featured in this message and consider how you can understand more about ECM through getting your company involved in a Work Day, collecting supplies for projects, or sending cards as just a few simple ways to get started.

2012 Work Day Schedule

The ECM Saturday Work Day schedule is out for 2012, so you can start figuring out the date(s) for your group(s) to get involved in ECM. For the full calendar, click here.

April 14

April 28 (The Big Day of Serving)

May 5

May 19

June 2

June 16

June 30

July 14

July 28

August 11

August 25

September 8

September 22

October 6

October 22

Colorado Avalanche Game

Extreme Community Makeover Fundraiser Night

with the Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 7:00pm

Lower Level Seats (Corners & Ends) - $55 (regularly $102)

Upper Level Seats (Corners & Ends) - $27 (regularly $40)

For each ticket purchased, $5 goes back to support Extreme Community Makeover!

To order your tickets online, click here. Any questions, or to order by phone, please call Gretchen Dorfman at 303.405.1154 or email gdorfman@pepsicenter.com.

The Big Day of Serving

The Big Day of Serving

You may be wondering what The Big Day of Serving is? The Big Day of Serving brings youth groups together for ONE DAY of service that will revolutionize an entire neighborhood! When you think about The Big Day of Serving, picture this: a thousand teenagers from youth groups in your area uniting to serve a neighborhood in need.

This event takes place in cities across the country, but will be in Denver on April 28 and ECM is a partner in making it happen. We will be targeting the Westwood neighborhood by bringing help and hope to people through working on projects like painting, cleaning alleys, and removing graffiti. For more details, check out the video and spread the word to any youth you know. For more details and to sign up, click here.

Company Partner

to our newest company partner, Xcel Energy, for your financial contribution. We appreciate your support in working with ECM!

To find out more about how your church or company can also become a partner of ECM, contact Angela today.

Valentine's Day Cards

If you haven't done anything special for Valentine's Day yet, you can send a card and a gift, which will benefit ECM at the same time! Check it out here.

January Volunteers

Thank you to the groups who volunteered in January to help collect valuable feedback from the residents ECM worked with in 2011 and to provide a makeover for the garage where our supplies are stored. And a huge thank you to GarageTek for donating the organization system!

National Association of Professional Organizers - Colorado

University of Texas Navigators

Updates from Last Month

Many things mentioned last month are still happening, so we just want to remind you about them and how you can stay involved.

Friday, February 10 at 7:00 pm - Colorado Avalanche game. Details here.
Saturday, February 11 at 10:00 am - Winter Work Day. RSVP here.
Apply by Wednesday, February 15 - Free trees through Denver Digs. Details here.
Ongoing - Supplies Drive to collect project supplies. Details here.
Ongoing - Join an Extreme Team to dig in deeper with ECM. Details here.

Thank you for partnering with ECM to make a difference in Denver neighborhooods!

Sincerely,

Extreme Community Makeover

Colorado Avalanche Game

2012-01-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

Extreme Community Makeover Fundraiser Night

with the Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 7:00pm

Lower Level Seats (Corners & Ends) - $55 (regularly $102)

Upper Level Seats (Corners & Ends) - $27 (regularly $40)

For each ticket purchased, $5 goes back to support Extreme Community Makeover!

To order your tickets, click on this link: http://www.pepsicenter.com/groups/avalanche/ecm0210/

Any questions, or to order by phone, please call Gretchen Dorfman at 303.405.1154 or email gdorfman@pepsicenter.com.

Providing Incredible Volunteer Experiences

2012-01-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Extreme Community Makeover NewsletterJanuary Extreme Endeavors

January 2012

In This Issue

Volunteer Feedback

Colorado Avalanche Game

Joining an Extreme Team

Free Trees this Spring

Supplies Drive

Quick Links

About ECM

Contact ECM

Donate

Help ECM build stronger communities in Denver through your financial support.

Checks can be made payable to:

Extreme Community Makeover

and sent to:

Extreme Community Makeover

PO Box 102586

Denver, CO 80250-2586

Greetings!

A new year is upon us with new beginnings in store. As we reflect upon 2011 and look ahead to 2012, we are filled with excitement and anticipation as we continue to work toward building stronger communities in Denver! Last year, 3,005 of our amazing volunteers (such as yourself) partnered with 293 families on projects at their homes. All this work amounted to 16,297.5 hours of volunteer time invested into the six neighborhoods targeted by ECM. That's an amazing accomplishment!

We want to build upon that though. This year, ECM has many goals, which we will continue to share with you in upcoming months. But the goal highlighted this month is to provide incredible volunteer experiences for you through ECM and our partners. Even though it's cold outside, there are many ways to stay involved so keep reading to find out more.

Winter Work Day

Saturday, February 11

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location: To Be Decided

Due to many requests to have some volunteer opportunities this winter, a Winter Work Day has been scheduled for February 11. This Work Day will focus on going door-to-door to complete follow-up evaluations with the residents ECM worked with this past year in order to gather their feedback about their experience with ECM. This day is open to groups and individuals. Please RSVP with the number of people who will be attending.

Volunteer Feedback

Since ECM is built upon volunteers who make all the work being accomplished possible, we want to hear from you about your experience volunteering with ECM. Will you please take 2 minutes to answer a 10 question survey? Your input is invaluable in preparing for this year. Access the survey by clicking this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5FR76DQ. Thanks!

Colorado Avalanche Game

Extreme Community Makeover Fundraiser Night

with the Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 7:00pm

Lower Level Seats (Corners & Ends) - $55 (regularly $102)

Upper Level Seats (Corners & Ends) - $27 (regularly $40)

For each ticket purchased, $5 goes back to support Extreme Community Makeover!

To order your tickets, click on this link: http://www.pepsicenter.com/groups/avalanche/ecm0210/

Any questions, or to order by phone, please call Gretchen Dorfman at 303.405.1154 or email gdorfman@pepsicenter.com.

Joining an Extreme Team

Did you know that nearly 50 people have poured over 1,000 volunteer hours into ECM in 2011 and these people didn't pick up a paint brush or put on work gloves for most of these hours?

These efforts happen through the ten Extreme Teams created to help with ECM operations that foster Work Days running more smoothly, that make fundraising events possible, that create memories through taking photos, and many other areas crucial to ECM success. If you are looking for a way to make an ongoing difference this year and joining a team of others committed to the same goal, you are invited to find out more about the Extreme Teams. Click here to find out more details about each team. Use the form on the website to indicate which team(s) you are interested in and you will receive more info from there.

Free Trees this Spring

Denver residents have the opportunity to receive FREE trees, this spring only, through a collaboration between Denver Digs (free street trees) and The Mile High Million (free trees for the west side of your home). Applications must be submitted by February 15. Click here for more details and to get signed up for your free tree now.

Supplies Drive

When volunteers complete around 300 projects each year, a lot of supplies are needed to accomplish this work. Thus, ECM is holding a Supplies Drive for the months of January-March to collect supplies that can be used on upcoming projects. Please spread the word and encourage your church group, co-workers, school, friends, family members, or anyone else you know to pick up some of these supplies to donate to ECM.

An easy way to do this would be to get some orange "Homer" buckets from Home Depot (which can always be used by ECM as well), bring it to the place where you will be collecting the supplies, and then fill the buckets with supplies from the list provided here. Gift cards to Home Depot, Lowe's, or Ace Hardware are also really useful as we need shelving to store these supplies. Thanks in advance for your help!

Thank you for partnering with ECM to make a difference in Denver neighborhooods!

Sincerely,

Extreme Community Makeover

An Evening of Art and Much More

2011-11-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Art is in the Air event. Through the event sponsors and participants, we were able to raise over $8,000! Thank you for everyone's generosity and support in partnering with ECM to impact Denver neighborhoods "one block at a time". Here are a few of the pictures, but you can see many more here.

Art is in the Air on Thursday

2011-11-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Denver Justice Conference

2011-11-04T08:49:00.000-06:00

November Extreme Endeavors

2011-11-02T12:38:00.000-06:00

Check out this month's email newsletter here. Make sure to stay up to date with ECM by receiving this info once a month directly to your email. Sign up here. Thanks for reading!

Art is in the Air

2011-10-26T11:35:00.001-06:00

You are invited to Art is in the Air on November 10! View the invitation here and invite your friends to join you - http://paperless.ly/uNfhE0. Hope to see you there!

Before-During-After

2011-10-13T14:02:00.001-06:00

Volunteers from the Urban Land Institute assisted with the clean up, trash removal, and weeding at an unoccupied house. Farris, a neighbor who lives next door to an abandoned house that had become a dumping ground, as well as a hangout for the homeless, solicited the help of Extreme Community Makeover. “Those guys [the volunteers] have done so much. They were so awesome to work with.”

Although isolated by geography and transportation, with the help of Extreme Community Makeover residents of Globeville helped better the community and themselves.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Despite the Rain

2011-10-10T19:51:00.001-06:00

Despite the rain, volunteers met and helped residents of the Globeville on Saturday October 8th. Physically isolated from Denver by freeways, railroad lines and the South Platte River, Globeville is a community apart.

Members of Greenwood Community Church visited one house and assisted with trash removal and overall cleanup and organization of a yard. There was a lot of weeding to be done, but the church members focused and completed the task at hand. Marcelino, the resident, explained that he had just become so busy that maintaining his yard was harder than he expected. “It was a lot to get started, and having Extreme Community Makeover here to help made it so much easier. I’m so grateful. A lot was needed and a lot was done.”

Save the Date: November 10

2011-10-06T16:22:00.001-06:00

ECM Wins the Charity Fan Vote!

2011-09-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

Thank you to everyone who voted for Extreme Community Makeover in the Citywide Banks Charity Fan Vote contest on Facebook. Read more here. With 46% of the votes, ECM won the $500 donation. Each vote made that possible, so thanks for your support!

Small Changes.....Huge Impact

2011-09-20T13:28:00.000-06:00

Extreme Community Makeover (ECM) provides the small changes necessary to make a huge impact – leaving neighbors connected and neighborhoods different. For Karen, living in Southwest Denver’s Westwood neighborhood her experience with ECM started with a piece of paper. After her husband died, maintaining her house while taking care of her grandchildren was nearly impossible due to her fibromyalgia,. After visits from the city with warnings to clean up her property, Karen found a paper on her door from ECM. “I was relieved, and glad to have some help. I thought they’d just come for a few hours but so many people showed up – it was like a Godsend – everyone came and it was done.” For Karen, cleaning up her yard, cutting up fallen trees, nailing up a fence and painting the back of her house provided her with relief. With Extreme Community Makeover, a paper left on a door can leave a house and a neighborhood just looking different.

Vote for ECM to Win $500

2011-09-16T14:48:00.000-06:00

ECM has been nominated to receive a $500 contribution from Citywide Banks. But there are four other organizations also competing for the prize. If you are on Facebook, please "Like" the Citywide Banks page and scroll down where you will then have the option to choose "Extreme Community Makeover" to receive your charity fan vote. Click here now.!

To read the spotlight about ECM, click here.

Thanks for voting!

10,000 Volunteers - 1,000 Projects!

2011-09-11T16:47:00.000-06:00

As today marks the tenth anniversary of 9.11, ECM reached a signficant milestone as a group from God's Grace Community Church served with ECM today. The accomplishment is that this group of hard-working folks helped ECM surpass 10,000 total volunteers who have worked with families in 6 Denver neighborhoods to complete 1,000 total projects since ECM began in 2008! Today shows that volunteering can really make a difference as we all look for ways to be a good neighbor by remembering the sacrifice that many of our own neighbors have made for others, as well as ourselves.

Working Together is Success

2011-07-17T18:15:00.001-06:00

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.” - Henry Ford

[Before the water fight]

Royce was soaked. His fellow workers weren’t much better after the impromptu water fight, but no one seemed to mind. The Colorado sunshine was warm and already their clothes were beginning to dry as they went back to work. The five University of Denver students gathered around the lawn, studying it carefully. “It’s still a little uneven on this side,” said Royce. “Let’s try using the board again.” Royce was enjoying himself. True, none of the group had ever leveled a lawn before, but the elderly woman who owned the property had given them advice, and the team was figuring it out.

They continued to work through the afternoon, talking and laughing with one another. After the lawn was leveled they were able to spread out grass seed, and the owner of the house came out with a special sealant that she helped them put on. Finally the job was done and the group left; tired, dirty, and extremely happy. Looking back on the day, Royce said that he would definitely want to work with ECM in the future. “I wish there were more groups like ECM all over the country!”

- Amelia N

Supported by a Community

2011-07-13T06:42:00.000-06:00

From the moment the ECM team knocked on my door and offered help I felt support on its way. My husband and I are first-time home owners and we both work two jobs. Our yard was becoming a daily source of stress. We constantly struggled to keep on top of maintenance.

Angela and the ECM team were able to schedule their visit to the Barnum community easily though email. Unfortunately we were not able to connect on ECM's first visit to Barnum, but Angela followed up with me and made sure that she scheduled the help we very much needed.

The ECM team scheduled a visit with me, but I was surprised when I opened the door to more than fifteen people that were there to help me. I quite honestly couldn't believe the help I was about to receive. I showed them the problems that I was having with my front yard, like large stumps that needed to be dug up and tree branches that were brushing the house. They smiled and got straight to helping me. When they were done with the front yard they moved into the back yard. I wasn't even expecting them to help me with both spaces! The ECM team spent five hours helping me with my yard. It was a phenomenal experience and I can’t believe the way this organization came together to help me and my neighborhood.

The ECM group was not only a very hard working bunch but they were willing to teach me how to do things like fill my lawnmower. They gave me confidence to be able to tackle this daunting task. I feel like my yard is now at a point where I can maintain it.

It was a pleasure to have help from such amazing and supportive people. It’s not every day that I’m fortunate enough to have help from such a smiling group of people. I left feeling supported by a community and this is a new feeling for me. THANK YOU ECM!!!!

- Cortney, Barnum resident

Amazing Summer Volunteers

2011-07-01T08:19:00.000-06:00

With the month of June passing by so quickly, it's hard to believe one month of summer is already behind us. But June has been a great month for Extreme Community Makeover (ECM) thanks to the amazing volunteers who have been a part of helping ECM impact Denver neighborhoods

ECM has hosted groups of volunteers every Tuesday and Thursday this month, which will continue through the first week of August. Many of these teams have traveled long miles to come to Denver and spend a week here through organizations such as Adventures in Missions, City Connexx, and Youthworks. We have seen volunteers from Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas within the past couple of weeks and they have worked hard to paint houses, clean yards, and remove graffiti. But most importantly, they have been able to build relationships with 26 families.

If you find you have a Tuesday or Thursday free in the month of July, come on out to join ECM and help a neighbor. You might just find yourself turning into an amazing volunteer as well!

For more information - click here.
To see pictures of these amazing volunteers - click here.

“I myself am often surprised at life’s little quirks.” - The Princess Bride

2011-06-24T14:25:00.000-06:00

I began volunteering for Extreme Community Makeover (ECM) my freshman year of college. The Campus Crusade chapter at my school had a group that went with some frequency, a group that was comprised mostly of upper classmen. At the time it seemed like a golden opportunity, a way to serve in the community and to meet some of those oh-so-terribly-mature-and-cool-people-I-want-to-be-just-like.

On one of my first days with ECM, we were assigned dumpster duty. Our instructions were to go up and down the alleyways and to paint over any graffiti that had been marked on the dumpsters. One of the older Crusade guys immediately had us divide into two groups of four, and then down into pairs in order to maximize our efficiency. I was a little nervous about my partner. Michelle was a pretty blond sophomore. Though I had never really met her, I knew she had a reputation as being both extremely smart and very nice. I suddenly felt insecure – Michelle obviously had plenty of friends. What would she think of a silly little freshman like me?

Our group of four trekked down to our first alleyway and began to work, moving from one dumpster to another. When the other pair got caught up in talking to one of the local residents, Michelle and I decided to move on to the next dumpster. It was quite a ways down the alley, and soon the sound of the guys talking behind us became remote. We had just about reached the dumpster when we heard a growl. I had just enough time to register a chain link fence before a hundred pound brown blur was hurdling himself straight at us. The fence shook with the weight of his impact and Michelle and I both screamed. We took off running and dodged around the dumpster. Behind us, the dog was still barking for all he was worth, discontentedly pacing behind the fence. Michelle and I looked at each other and began to giggle. Soon we were outright laughing, relief and embarrassment pouring out.

All of a sudden I had a sobering thought. “Michelle, the boys are going to have to walk right past that dog. Should we warn them?” Again we looked at each other. Warning them would be a kind thing to do. But they were guys; manly-men. They could handle it, couldn’t they? And if we were wrong, and they did end up screaming like little girls and running behind our dumpster, well, then we would all have something to laugh about. Michelle agreed. We would just wait behind the dumpster and see what happened.

It was at that moment that I decided I really liked Michelle. While she looked (and truly really was) sweet and kind, she also had an adventurous, fun side that could pop up in the strangest places. I was to see it again years later when we both studied abroad at the same school. Our friendship was what helped me to handle the inconveniences and quirks of travel with grace. And to think, it all began with a day spent at Extreme Community Makeover dumpster painting.

The guys didn’t scream, by the way. They barely glanced at the dog (who, in my opinion, had gone soft in the minutes we were waiting).

by Amelia N

June Extreme Endeavors

2011-06-14T07:53:00.000-06:00

Find out about a few of the things ECM has been up to this month.....

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Summer-Is-Here.html?soid=1102372201958&aid=BZwFoqapXR0

May Extreme Endeavors

2011-05-19T07:18:00.000-06:00

May's email newsletter shares many of the neat things happening through ECM this month. The most exciting news is that ECM is officially a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/ECM-is-a-501-c--3--Non-Profit-Organization-.html?soid=1102372201958&aid=YF9KRka7c5M

If you would like to receive this monthly email update, click here to sign up - http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001I2RsqMRJGm8Mk7Z6rMDLmA%3D%3D

Thanks!

From an Idea…..to a Program…..to a Non-Profit Organization

2011-04-05T17:56:00.000-06:00

From an idea…..to a program…..to a non-profit organization. How does that happen? How did I ever get connected with this idea that has impacted the direction of my life immensely?

Have you ever really taken time to think about how you got involved in the non-profit world and specifically, the organization that you’re dedicating your life’s work toward? I have been contemplating those thoughts a lot lately. Three years ago someone came to me with this concept called the Extreme Community Makeover (ECM). He shared the idea with me and invited me to be a part of the team that was going to give this concept more structure and strategy. The idea piqued my interest, so I said, “Sure, I would be glad to get involved!” without even thinking twice about it.

And now, here I am writing this blog post, reflecting on the past three years, and realizing how much ECM has really transformed my own life. What started out as one of the millions of ideas people have every day, transitioned into a program of a non-profit organization. In the past three years, we have had thousands of people also say they would like to get involved and because of these volunteers, ECM has been able to impact hundreds of residents in specific Denver neighborhoods to partner with them to complete home and neighborhood improvement projects, while building relationships throughout the process. And now, ECM is transitioning into becoming its own non-profit organization! How did this happen? How did this idea turn into something so much bigger than anyone imagined?

The non-profit sector is designed to affect social change for the common good of people. I would venture a guess that each of you reading these thoughts got involved in a non-profit for that reason – because you wanted to make a difference in your community and in our world. And because of all the great ideas out there, non-profit organizations are doing amazing work, which is the work that each of us is privileged to be a part of on a daily basis.

Fortunately, ECM has been an idea that has stuck and is something that I get to be connected with firsthand every day. I have been able to watch it grow into a solid program model that is hopefully making an impact in the lives of the people and neighborhoods we are trying to reach. But what really strikes me most is the impact ECM has actually had on my own life. ECM has given me a first hand glimpse into skills that I never knew I had, as well as areas where I need to grow as a person and as a leader. And I can usually always find opportunities to implement those needed improvements right away.

All of us in the non-profit world are doing the work we do because we want to make a difference. But I think we should never underestimate the difference our work can make in our own lives.

Angela Bomgaars

Executive Director, Extreme Community Makeover