The Extreme Community Makeover team kicked off the spring
season last week with our first work day of the year! Saturday, April 11th we were out in the Barnum district of Denver with a group of dedicated
volunteers and plenty of alley clean up, park cleanup and individual resident
work.
The day started at Bethany United Methodist Church, who was
gracious enough to allow ECM to use their facility as our base. Volunteers
joined us from AmeriCorp, Heritage High School’s student council group, as well
as plenty of individuals looking to lend a hand. The teams were deployed around
Barnum with roughly 15 different projects to complete during the day.
One of the more memorable projects of the day was the Cedar
Park clean up. A small, corner lot park that needed some love after the winter
months. ECM transformed Cedar Park from an overgrown, weed covered lot, into a
freshly mowed and manicured park for summer. During our work at the park, I had
the opportunity to chat with April Crumley, a passionate, caring resident of
Barnum and fantastic supporter of ECM. Between pulling weeds and raking, April
told us stories of the history of Barnum. She covered the legends of Barnum
& Bailey owning elephants in the area, and educated us on the history of Civil
War General Hooker, from whom Hooker Street takes its name.
Talking with April, you could feel her passion for her
neighborhood. She spoke so highly of the area, the residents and the potential
at every corner. She also told us about the non-profit she leads, Concerned Citizens
for Barnum. Since 1974, this neighborhood organization has had the mission
to promote community responsibility through informed and active
participation of citizens in their local government by implementation of
positive, patriotic, fraternal, historical and educational objectives and to
preserve and strengthen unity among its members, and in our community by
promoting good health welfare, and environmental beautification. It was
incredible to hear that for 40 years, April has been working on the improvement
of Barnum.
Working alongside April to help clean up Barnum gave myself,
and other volunteers an incredible sense of pride. It quickly became more than
just a ‘work day’ because you could see and discuss how ECM’s efforts were
impacting the residents. Like-minded people, working on a shared vision for one
of Denver’s incredible neighborhoods.
We can’t wait for more work days, more neighborhoods, and
more people like April.
~Adam, ECM Communications Team
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