How Extreme Community Makeover Is Strengthening Denver Neighborhoods | Pinpoint Colorado

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

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SPEAKER 03 : 0:43

Welcome to Pinpoint, Colorado. I’m your host, Rachel Maines. Today, we’re featuring a Denver nonprofit extreme community makeover that’s making a meaningful impact across Denver by connecting volunteers alongside residents to do practical home improvement and community projects. This organization is making a lasting impact and connecting communities together. Coming up, I’ll be joined by Executive Director Angela Baumgars. Thank you, Angela, for allowing Pinpoint Colorado to come here and learn more about your amazing nonprofit.

SPEAKER 02 : 1:31

Yeah, you’re welcome. Well, thanks for being here, Rachel. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER 03 : 1:35

Well, we’ve known each other for years. I’ve been to the work days. They’re just this organization. Well, first of all, I got to say, I’m going to brag upon you. And I tell you all the time, you’re so good at efficiency. You know how to plan a day. So I just want to mention for anyone who signs up to volunteer, they run so smoothly. But for those who don’t know about Extreme Community Makeover, share how this got started.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:01

Yeah, you know, it really was an idea. You know, ideas are a dime a dozen. You never really know what sticks and what doesn’t. But I would say pretty early on when the idea first kind of materialized, we started introducing it to volunteers. People kind of kept volunteering, kept volunteering. And really after the first year, we had really had almost 2000 volunteers with pretty limited like marketing of it. And it kind of was clear like, hey, I think this is something people are excited about participating in. Let’s really take it and run with it. And I said, well, I’ll sign up to do that. And here we are all these years later. And when did it get started? We started in 2008.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:36

Wow, that’s a long time to be a nonprofit. It is. And it’s quite unique. So Extreme Community Makeover, you guys go into communities and you make over the community. But explain the type of tasks.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:48

Yeah, exactly. So really what we’re focusing on is really bringing volunteers together with residents of specific neighborhoods here in Denver that we’re working in. with the goal of really saying, how can we provide some extra people, extra hands, and let’s work together, be good neighbors, and really complete outside home or neighborhood improvement projects. So a lot of the projects we do are yard work, cleanup projects, painting, landscaping, fence repair, trimming bushes, kind of anything outside that doesn’t require a permit or professional expertise. And really that are projects that volunteers can do because they might be doing those types of projects at their own homes anyway.

SPEAKER 03 : 3:25

Right. And what I like about this, too, the volunteers of every age, really, I’ve seen families and kids and, you know, singles of every age because there’s always something for somebody to do.

SPEAKER 02 : 3:36

Absolutely. And so every time we have a volunteer day, it’s open to anyone to participate. So there’s a lot of individuals that come. We get a lot of groups, whether that be churches, companies, schools, organizations. And the group sizes are really flexible, too. Like we’ve had groups of five people to 50 people to 500 people. And so obviously there’s more logistics, the bigger the group sizes get. But what’s nice about it is that we really can make it work because we’re really covering more ground, the more volunteers we have. So we really focus on two projects. One is the alley cleanup graffiti removal project. So really kind of community cleanup, picking up trash, pulling weeds, painting over graffiti. Whereas the other adopt-a-block project is where we’ll go into the neighborhood a couple weeks ahead of time, knock on people’s doors, start conversations with them to say, hey, we’ll be in your neighborhood on this particular day. Are you interested in having some volunteers to work with you? And so, again, like, you know, the more volunteers we have, the more blocks we could adopt or the more alleys we could clean and just kind of keep scaling it that way.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:37

Yeah. So you’re transforming a neighborhood in multiple ways. First, just aesthetically, then transforming hearts, because I can’t imagine, you know, getting a knock on my door and be like, hey, I want to help you with your outside projects. Like, wow.

SPEAKER 02 : 4:49

Right.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:54

Just seeing how the volunteers connect with the neighbors, how the neighbors connect with other neighbors. Sometimes neighbors, you know, nowadays we don’t really know each other as well as back in the day. So you’re getting people out the neighborhood. So do you have a story or two about neighbors connecting and how that really does change neighborhoods?

SPEAKER 02 : 5:14

Yeah, the one that makes me laugh. This was however many years ago, but we had two neighbors who were who live next door to each other. And we ended up doing a project with both of the neighbors. And so somehow or other, it came out during the beginning of the day that these two neighbors maybe didn’t really get along very well, that they didn’t like each other. And I think it was something silly as to what the issue was that like one of them didn’t like how the other took out the trash. or you know something minor like that well the day goes on you know like we start the projects in the morning while at lunchtime we always break for lunch but we invite the folks that we’re working with to come join us for lunch both of these families ended up coming to lunch well it gets towards the end of lunch like everyone’s gone back out to their project sites but there’s this one table just laughing and laughing well it turns out it’s those two neighbors so it’s like This experience got them to sit down at the same table and start talking to each other. And they realized like, okay, clearly we maybe have more in common than what we initially thought, but it required them like sitting down and talking to each other as opposed to like disliking about the other, how they took out the trash. Right. You know, so to me, that’s what I think is really neat about those volunteer days is exactly what you said. It’s connecting people that really maybe wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to connect on a variety of levels. You know, whether it’s a company that is volunteering with their coworkers outside of the office or, you know, maybe some people are remote, some are in the office in their cubicles or whatever. You know, a school sports team like, hey, you’re getting to know your teammates in a different way. Or, you know, maybe it’s folks who have just moved to Denver and are like, I just really want to meet people and really like minded people who like to give back to the community. But I also think it’s really a great way to connect with neighbors that you wouldn’t otherwise meet. And also, that’s really the reason why we go block by block is hopefully it gets people out of their houses, getting people connected. talking to each other and really saying like, how does that build stronger communities when people first off start talking to each other and then continuing those conversations and really saying like, well, then how does that grow into like looking out for each other and really saying that’s what builds stronger communities when you care about your neighbors, look out for each other, help each other and have a stronger neighborhood than that you live in.

SPEAKER 03 : 7:27

right and once again that’s on multiple levels through knowing your neighbors but also taking pride in in your house because you have a beautiful fence that people helped you paint right you know because if you needed some trash removal now your yard is looking more aesthetically beautiful you know so there’s a lot of different levels here and then also just offering um something fun

SPEAKER 01 : 7:51

Right.

SPEAKER 03 : 7:51

That you can go volunteer at, you know, and you’re using your hands and that’s just a fun activity. I want to mention the extreme teams because, yes, you can volunteer just, you know, typical volunteer, but share about the extreme teams.

SPEAKER 02 : 8:06

Yes. To me, the extreme teams are really one of the best ways to get involved, I think, because there’s 10 different teams. And these are really the key volunteers who I would say help the work days that we that we have available really run smoothly. Because in those 10 different teams, there’s a whole range of things like there’s a communications team who they’re putting Instagram stories together and telling more about the why we do what we do. There’s folks who are translating between English and Spanish. There’s others who are driving the truck and picking up trash and other teams who are getting lunch ready and other teams who are giving resource packets to the residents and a whole range of different aspects of what all of those 10 extreme teams do. And I would really say like anyone’s skill sets or interests kind of fit into one of those teams. Some of them are pretty clear as to what they are. Some of them are a little more like broad in range of what they do. But I feel like it’s really a great way to like get to know the work that Extreme Community Makeover is doing more consistently, but you also have a team that you’re a part of and you really connect with others who like, let’s just use the video team as an example. Like they’re all folks who enjoy putting videos together and they all have that in common, but they also have in common that they’re using their skills to give back through Extreme Community Makeover and really tell the stories about what happens when we do projects like this and how that is impactful to people, you know, both on a volunteer standpoint And from the community standpoint. And so I think, yeah, the extreme teams are a great way to really get plugged in, really use skills that you have and really be able to say like, hey, I really can recognize that the time that I’m investing in my volunteer time is really making a difference through extreme community makeover.

SPEAKER 03 : 9:49

Right. Making a difference and they’re getting to know other people and making friends.

SPEAKER 02 : 9:53

Absolutely.

SPEAKER 03 : 9:54

So, yeah, it’s a fun thing. Now, this was born and raised in Colorado, but you have aspirations to take it to other states.

SPEAKER 02 : 10:03

Yeah, I would love to see that happen sometime down the road. I feel like I’ve had numerous inquiries over the years of people who’ve been interested or interested. either heard about what we’re doing or maybe it was someone who volunteered with us here in Denver, but then they moved elsewhere and then reached out like, hey, I really remember enjoying that experience. Like, is there something in whatever city they had moved to? And so I feel like the way in which we bring people people together is really necessary and really important especially because a lot of times we don’t know our neighbors we go in and out of our houses and we don’t take the time to do that and i think like the message of what we’re trying to encourage which is getting to know your neighbors investing in your community and yeah being good neighbors is so important that i think yeah it would be great to bring it to other places other cities other you know other neighborhoods that sort of thing so I think it just kind of requires like having us having a good foundation here in Denver to continue doing the work that we’re doing, but also be able to expand beyond that to say like, OK, we we can continue doing what we’re doing here and continue building and growing that while also saying like, OK, let’s be open to seeing what other places arise. That might be a good fit for it.

SPEAKER 03 : 11:16

Yeah, that’s great. Well, I know, you know. Many people kind of dream about starting a nonprofit. There’s so many great ideas out there. Like you say, you have an idea. But what’s a couple tips you can give our listeners, our viewers, if they have in mind a nonprofit?

SPEAKER 02 : 11:33

Yeah, that’s a good question. I would say be prepared to go into it with both eyes open because it’s a lot more than you initially bargained for. It’s like you… I mean, everyone who gets involved in nonprofit work, it’s because you care about the mission and the cause of what you’re doing. There’s also a lot of work to it. And, you know, a lot of things that are tied to the mission, but also a lot of things that like maybe don’t seem tied to the mission. But, you know, like doing the tax return like that side. you know, still part of the reality of like, even nonprofits have to, you know, put tax returns together. So, you know, just, I would say, do your research to know, like, is the idea that someone has, is it something that maybe someone else is already doing and there’s opportunities to partner with them? And if not, and there really is a desire to, yes, I want to become a 501c3 and move in that direction. Just being clear about what your mission is, but also being clear to have done your research to know like, okay, you’ve kind of thought through all of the other pieces that go into it, which is. Really, you know, building your program model out, but also like the fundraising part of it is a big part of you have to have resources to actually like support what you’re doing and and knowing that’s that’s part of the drill, you know, as well. And also, how do you really build community support for what you’re doing and Yeah, I think I think sometimes it could be testing the waters of first before having to jump into the deep end to see, like, is that the only is that the only way to do what you have in mind? And if it is great, then it maybe makes sense to. But, you know, just maybe be open to exploring. Maybe there’s other ways of doing what you want to do as well. That may not be as easy. cumbersome sometimes on the back end of like, yeah, there are lots of, you know, I’s to dot and T’s to cross that you have to do when you’re, when you are a 501c3. Right.

SPEAKER 03 : 13:30

Lots of hard work go into nonprofits for sure. And you have been doing it excellently in my opinion.

SPEAKER 02 : 13:35

Thank you.

SPEAKER 03 : 13:37

So for those who are listening, who are viewing, They want to volunteer. How did they get started?

SPEAKER 02 : 13:42

We’d love to have anyone come volunteer with us. So probably the best place to start is go to our website. So extremecommunitymakeover.org. There’s a section about volunteers on there and there’s a whole section about of events. so you can kind of go to either section and if you go to the events page it’ll show here’s all the different dates that we host our goal is really having a lot of volunteer opportunities scheduled throughout the year so it really is easy for people to jump in it’s not like we only do things one or two times a year there’s a lot of dates there should be something you know that can kind of fit everyone’s schedule they’re also like if you’re on that volunteer page it’ll tell you a few more details about okay what to expect if you do volunteer what does that look like but also how to register so we usually have people register as a group if they’re expecting five or more people or register as an individual if you know maybe it’s a family who wants to come volunteer and yeah really the main thing then is getting registered through a platform we use called volunteer hub and then that’s how we know when people are planning to show up and then we can keep everyone posted with all the details specific to that particular day that they’re planning to volunteer from there

SPEAKER 03 : 14:48

Yeah. Once again, I’ll say volunteering for you is really easy breezy because you’re so well organized. So listeners and viewers definitely go to the website and get signed up. And I just know you’re going to enjoy your day and give back and then create camaraderie within the family or the organization. Or if you’re an individual, you’ll meet other people. So it’s just really fun.

SPEAKER 02 : 15:09

Yeah. And to me, that’s what’s fun about each day, too, of just seeing how like there’s different, you know, different individuals, different groups, different neighborhoods, different projects that like, you know, like we can have the foundation be similar for each day. But really, each day is so different based on those kind of connections that come up in the day and relationships that are formed throughout that day. Right.

SPEAKER 03 : 15:29

Well, thank you so much, Angela, for being on.

SPEAKER 02 : 15:31

Thank you, Rachel, for having me. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER 03 : 15:35

My thanks to Angela Baumgars, the executive director of Extreme Community Makeover, for joining us today. And thank you so much for the incredible work you’re doing in Denver neighborhoods. You can learn more and sign up to volunteer by going to extremecommunitymakeover.org. You can also stop by Pinpoint Colorado to watch past episodes. Go to pinpointcolorado.com. Thanks for joining us and see you next time.