|
It's surprising how often Golden people say,
"I wish I was more involved." Getting involved in Golden is
easy--the trick is to keep from being overwhelmed with
options.
One easy way to get involved is to study the
local
non-profits, such as the museums, and identify one
that appeals to you. Non-profits thrive on volunteer labor,
and almost always welcome more help. Just tell them you'd
like to be involved, and soon you will be!
The Golden Visitors Center has a
large staff of volunteers, who man the desk and provide
visitors with information about things to see, things to do,
where to eat, shop, and stay. More volunteers are always
welcome.
The City depends on volunteers to
serve on their boards and commissions.
Each of these groups are made up of citizens
who have agreed to serve for a fixed term of years. They
study particular issues and provide advice to the City
Council.
The schools always need help, so if
you would like to work with children, contact the principal
of any of the local schools and see if they can use you.
The Golden Police Department depends
on the non-profit Victim Outreach Information (VOI) to
provide victim services. VOI is seeking volunteers to work
directly with crime victims, offering support and access to
resources during a critical stage of trauma. Volunteer
Victim Advocates are called out by law enforcement on
evenings and weekends to respond on scene, to ensure
victims’ rights are upheld and needs are met. Contact:
Victim Outreach Information @
303-202-2196 or email:
victimoutreachinfo@gmail.com.
 The
Golden Fire Department recruits year-round for a
training course that occurs once a year. See their
recruitment video.
Golden offers one very unique opportunity to
learn about involvement in the community. Leadership
Golden is a tuition-free class, held annually for the
past twenty years. Applications to participate are accepted
during the summer, and the class starts in August.
Participants attend an evening session about once a month
for nine months. Dinner is provided. Each session has a
different focus, such as history, the arts, city and county
government, the schools, and volunteering in the community.
It's a wonderful way to get to know your options, and to
learn more, meet people, and have fun while you're doing
it. There are similar Leadership programs throughout the
country (in fact, Jefferson County has one), but as far as
we know, this one is unique in being free to the
participants. Leadership Golden supports itself through
sales of its annual Christmas ornaments. The Civic
Foundation, Coors, and the Chamber provided generous seed
money to get the program started. To learn more about the
Leadership Golden program, see their
web site.
Leadership Golden also maintains a list of
volunteer opportunities in and around the Golden area. It
is available for download from their
web
site!
|
