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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 served 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.
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! |
