May Extreme Endeavors: Sharing Our Goals

Extreme Community Makeover NewsletterMay Extreme Endeavors May 2012

In This Issue Update: Spring Kick-Off Fundraiser Monthly & Specific Support Update: The Big Day of Serving Company Partner: Bona Mother's Day Cards April Volunteers Save the Date(s) Quick Links About ECM Contact ECM Donate Help ECM build stronger communities in Denver through your financial support. Checks can be made to: Extreme Community Makeover and sent to: Extreme Community Makeover PO Box 102586 Denver, CO 80250-2586 Greetings! Over the course of the past few months, ECM has shared a few of our big goals for the year: 1) providing incredible volunteer experiences, 2) growing in your understanding of ECM, and 3) digging deeper. This month, we have a few specific goals that were shared during our recent spring kick-off (see the picture below). 10 new groups in 2012 3,333+ volunteers in 2012 40 Extreme Teams members in 2012 Growth in depth We are starting to make headway in each area, but would like to invite you to be part of the process of helping us reach our goals this year. Read on for more info about how you can do that in a variety of ways. ECM Work Days We would like to invite you to join us for an upcoming Work Day. To see the list of all available Work Day dates, click here. Saturday, May 19 @ 9:00 am (West Colfax) Confluence Ministries - 1400 Quitman Street Saturday, June 2 @ 9:00 am (Barnum) Bethany United Methodist Church - 3501 West 1st Avenue To get involved, please RSVP to Angela and follow the links below to fill out the appropriate liability form.

Update: Spring Kick-Off Fundraiser Thank you to everyone who attended our spring kick-off fundraiser last month. During this event, a vision board was created that depicts different aspects of ECM that resonate most with people. What would you add to this vision board? Monthly & Specific Support One of our fundraising goals for 2012 is to encourage people to contribute on a monthly basis, in order to support the projects we do. Each of the monthly giving options are to the right. Just $10 per month supports 1 project, while $100 per month supports 10 projects each year. Sign up here. If you would prefer to support something specific, these options include: Brochures ($325) Insurance ($1,350) T-Shirts ($1,175) Yard Signs ($225) Checks can be made payable to: "Extreme Community Makeover" Mailed to: "ECM - PO Box 102586 - Denver, CO - 80250-2586" Credit Card: http://www.extremecommunitymakeover.org/Donate.aspx Update: The Big Day of Serving 1 neighborhood: Westwood 1 house: painted 2 businesses: painted 2 community gardens: prepped and planted 6 dumpsters: filled full of trash and debris 28 tree pits: de-bricked for future tree planting 93 trees: planted Hundreds of alleys: Cleaned and graffiti removed All this worked happened through 430 volunteers working together in one day to make amazing things happen! A huge thank you goes out to the sponsors that made this day possible including Action Youth, Aramark, BuCu West, City of Denver, Colorado Rockies, Crossroads of the Rockies, Councilman Paul Lopez's Office, Denver Parks and Recreation, Group Publishing, Lincoln High School, Lions Club, Mile High Million, Sam's Club, Waste Management, and Westwood Resident's Association. To see photos of the day, click here. Company Partner: Bona We are happy to have our newest Company Partner, Bona, join other ECM Partners. As a company, Bona got involved in an ECM Work Day last fall and has now committed to financial support of ECM as well. Thank You Bona! To learn more about how your church or company can become a partner of ECM, contact Angela. Mother's Day Cards If you haven't already sent your mom or grandma a Mother's Day card, check out this great way to remember the special women in your life by sending a personalized card with your own pictures. And did you know that sending cards and gifts can also support ECM at the same time? Sounds like a win-win! You can send 5-10 cards for just $9.80 per month (+ postage) or 30-50 cards for $31.00 per month (+ postage). 30% of what you spend on cards and gifts that you are planning to send anyway will then support ECM. Click here for more details about how you can stay in touch with friends and family or your business clients through sending cards and gifts. April Volunteers Thank you to all the groups who volunteered in April to start the Work Days strong for 2012! Chaparral High School Lacrosse Team Front Range Christian School Goodwill The Big Day of Serving Valor Christian High School Save the Date(s) Thursday, June 14 - 6:30-7:30 pm Volunteer Appreciation Potluck - This night will be a time of getting to know some of the other people who volunteer with ECM, learning more about ECM, and sharing opportunities to dig deeper with the ongoing work of ECM Friday, June 22 - 6:30-8:30 pm Stay tuned for more details on this fun event that incorporates art and creativity in a way that can benefit ECM at the same time! Click here to find out what this event is all about.

Thank you for partnering with ECM to make a difference in Denver neighborhooods! Sincerely, Extreme Community Makeover

Illegal Dumping Article

Take a look at this article and video that address why we are working on alley clean-ups and graffiti removal during The Big Day of Serving this Saturday, April 28.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30957643/detail.html

Clean Up Your Act

 

The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Clean Up Your Act

To support April’s 30-Day Challenge: Clean Up Your Act, we’re asking you to tell us how you would freshen up your community this spring. Submit an idea here for a chance to win a $500 grant. 

The Big Day of Serving

vote for this idea now

Copy +

Website

http://thebigdayofserving.com/locations/spring-2012/denver

Overview of Idea

To mobilize hundreds of youth for one big day of serving on April 28 to make a signficant difference in the Westwood neighborhood of Denver, CO through cleaning alleys, removing graffiti, planting trees, planting backyard and community gardens, painting homes, and painting businesses.

idea specifics: what will the $500 fund?

To provide scholarships for neighborhood youth to participate in this event. $500 will enable 17 local youth to get involved in this event in order to impact their local community.

Here We Go: April Extreme Endeavors

Extreme Community Makeover NewsletterApril Extreme Endeavors April 2012

In This Issue April 12: Spring Kick-Off Fundraiser April 17: Volunteer Fest Colorado April 28: The Big Day of Serving March Volunteers Recruiting Extreme Teams Volunteers Thank You: Denver Mile High Rotary Club Quick Links About ECM Contact ECM Donate Help ECM build stronger communities in Denver through your financial support. Checks can be made to: Extreme Community Makeover and sent to: Extreme Community Makeover PO Box 102586 Denver, CO 80250-2586 Greetings! During the past couple months, we have been sharing some of the goals ECM has for this year with you: 1) providing incredible volunteer experiences 2) growing in your understanding of ECM 3) digging deeper We hope that through gettting involved in Work Day projects, we'll provide a great experience for you, which challenges you to learn more about ECM and our long-term goals, which leads you to see how you can partner with ECM more often to help build stronger communities "one block at a time". All of the events and opportunities that follow are ways we would like to invite you to participate in what's happening through ECM as we work toward these goals together. Hope to see you soon! ECM Work Days Here we go.....ECM Work Days are starting this weekend! To see the list of all available Work Day dates, click here. Saturday, April 14 @ 9:00 am (Barnum) Barnum Recreation Center - 360 Hooker Street The Big Day of Serving: details below Saturday, April 28 @ 7:30 am (Westwood) Kepner Middle School - 911 South Hazel Court To get involved, please RSVP to Angela and follow the links below to fill out the appropriate liability form.

April 12: Spring Kick-Off Fundraiser We would like to invite you to join us for our spring kick-off event this Thurday, April 12 from 6:30-8:00 pm at the PorchLight Real Estate office at 838 Broadway. Click on the invitation below for all the details. Hope to see you there! April 17: Volunteer Fest Colorado Did you know that April 15-21 is National Volunteer Week? In honor of this week, there is a huge volunteer event at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Tuesday, April 17 where 80+ nonprofits (including ECM) will be celebrating, educating and recruiting volunteers. Come check it out! April 28: The Big Day of Serving There is still time to get involved in The Big Day of Serving on Saturday, April 28. The goal is to see hundreds of youth participate during this one day of serving to impact the Westwood neighborhood in a significant way. The early registration deadline is April 15, so make sure to get your group together and register today. For more information about how to get involved, click here. Please spread the word to other youth you know as well. March Volunteers Thank you to all the groups who volunteered with ECM in March! Many of these groups spent part of their spring break to make a difference by gathering feedback from residents ECM worked with last year, cleaning alleys, removing graffiti, and organizing our tools and supplies. Colorado School of Mines InterVaristy Front Range Christian School Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning City Connexx Minifie Family Recruiting Extreme Teams Volunteers Now that we are getting back into the swing of Work Days and projects happening on an ongoing basis, we are recruiting volunteers to join our Extreme Teams. What are Extreme Teams? They are ways to get involved with ECM in a specific area on a more consistent basis. Some teams get involved on Work Days through facilitating check-in, taking pictures, shooting videos, answering project questions, and many other things. Other teams contribute to Work Days through identifying projects, establishing supply connections, and following-up with residents after the Work Day. And other teams focus on strategies around communications, fundraising, and community development. For a description of each team, click here. Contact Angela with any questions you have and find out more about joining an Extreme Team today! Thank You: Denver Mile High Rotary Club The Denver Mile High Rotary Club is doing great work in Denver. As they have connected with ECM through their focus on the Villa Park neighborhood (one of ECM's target neighborhoods), they have decided to support ECM through providing a grant that has allowed us to purchase tools for projects that we are sometimes limited by due to insufficient resources. Now we have a lawn mower, weed eater, pole saw, chainsaw, ladders, brooms, shovels, and many other tools that we didn't have before, thanks to their generosity. The grant will also fund ECM's purchase of a database to enable us to do a better job of keeping up with our volunteers and donors, such as yourself. Thank you Denver Mile High Rotary Club!

Thank you for partnering with ECM to make a difference in Denver neighborhooods! Sincerely, Extreme Community Makeover

New Tools

Thanks to a grant we received from the Denver Mile High Rotary Club, we were able to purchase all these great tools and supplies that will help us to do so many more projects this year!  Thank you!!!

Spring Kick-Off Fundraiser: Thursday, April 12

Digging Deeper: March Extreme Endeavors

Extreme Community Makeover NewsletterMarch Extreme Endeavors March 2012 In This Issue Gearing Up for Extreme Teams April 28 - The Big Day of Serving February Volunteers Supplies Drive Video 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! With winter weather seeming to come to an end this week (and hopefully for good), ECM is getting ready to launch into the start of the project year with many ideas and plans. In order to execute these strategies though, we need people to help make things happen. Thus, another goal for this year is to to challenge people to dig deeper with ECM. What does this look like? If you've participated as a volunteer on a Work Day, consider getting your church or company involved. If you have skills in a specific area that could benefit ECM, consider joining an Extreme Team. If you believe in what ECM is doing, consider financial support on a regular basis. Whatever you're doing, let's see how you can dig a little deeper and see what you uncover! 2012 Work Day Schedule If you haven't scheduled a date for your group to participate in an ECM Work Day, here are the dates available. For the full calendar, click here. Contact Angela to sign-up. 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 Gearing Up for Extreme Teams Extreme Teams are ways to get involved with ECM in a specific area on a more consistent basis. There are ten different teams and thus, a lot of ways to connect. To see a list of all teams and a description of each, click here. How can you dig deeper with ECM and get more involved? Take pictures during volunteer Work Days that tell stories and create memories Facilitate the check-in process and t-shirts sales at the beginning of each Work Day Tell stories through video creation during Work Days Plan fundraisers and special events Communicate stories through the blog and social media Many other ways - chances are your skills fit into one of the teams! Contact Angela with any questions you have and to find out more about joining an Extreme Team today! April 28 - The Big Day of Serving If you know any youth in the age range of 13-18, they need to know about The Big Day of Serving, which is coming to Denver on April 28. In addition to ten other cities across the country also having this event, the goal is to mobilize thousands of youth to serve in their local communities during these one day events. For more information about the The Big Day of Serving and how to get involved, click here. And to follow the Facebook page for up to date information, click here. The goal is to see over 500 youth participate during this one day of serving to impact the Westwood neighborhood. If you would like to volunteer for the event through being a zone supervisor (oversee projects happening in a specific zone of blocks), rover (drive a pick-up to collect large trash items and bring them to the dumpster), block party crew (facilitate the end of day celebration), or various other roles, contact Angela for more details. February Volunteers Thank you to the group from Front Range Christian School who volunteered in February to shovel snow after a big winter storm and to paint trash cans for a community art project. Getting ready to paint Getting ready to shovel snow Supplies Drive We are still in process of collecting supplies to be used on upcoming projects this year and can use things like garbage bags, paint brushes, latex gloves, and many other useful items. If you can spread the word at your church, company, family, or school and collect the supplies, all the details are for you here. Ongoing projects will start up again in mid-April, so getting those supplies to ECM by then would be great. Thanks for your help! Video Check out this video about ECM so you can learn more and invite someone else to dig deeper! About ECM Thank you for partnering with ECM to make a difference in Denver neighborhooods! Sincerely, Extreme Community Makeover