The nonprofit High Country Volunteers connects over 100 local nonprofits with volunteers. It also runs many of its own programs, including tax prep assistance and health and wellness classes.
Administrators designed this model in response to community requests to aggregate volunteer opportunities in one place.
Aspen Public Radio’s Sage Smiley interviewed High Country Volunteers Executive Director Mary Moon and Program Manager Laura Kay Good during a live broadcast from the Nonprofit Volunteer Fair at the Glenwood Springs Branch Library on Wednesday.
This story is part of our “On the Ground” radio series that highlights solutions to local and global issues from Roaring Fork and Colorado River valley organizations.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Sage Smiley: First of all, High Country Volunteers, as I understand, started as a senior volunteer organization, but has expanded much more widely than that in recent years. Can you tell me about what prompted that transition?
Mary Moon: Sure. We've been around Garfield County for over 50 years. We were called High Country RSVP, [which stands] for Retired Senior Volunteer Program, and we were a sponsored program of Colorado Mountain College. And then a few years ago, during COVID, when none of the seniors could volunteer, we realized we needed to be working with a broader range of volunteers. We were expanding to our own nonprofit, and so we opened up to volunteers of all ages at that time.
Smiley: And you have a pretty wide list of projects that High Country Volunteers works on. I'm wondering if you can kind of sum up the mission of this organization. What gap are you trying to fill with all of these different projects in all different parts of many communities throughout this valley?
Moon: Yeah. Well, what we found was people had a difficult time — they wanted to volunteer, but they didn't know where to turn. There was no central resource for finding all of the volunteer opportunities in one central place. We had a couple of nonprofits say, “Hey, it would be really awesome if there was a website where we could go.” And so we took that and ran with it, and just listed volunteer opportunities for over 100 different nonprofits in our area — Pitkin, Eagle, and Garfield counties. And we have over 1,300 volunteers that are registered and using that website to find ways to volunteer.
Smiley: That's amazing. Anything you want to add about that, Laura?
Laura Kay Good: Well, I'm responsible for the Medicare counselors and the Medicare program, and also tax prep, so those are kind of neat, different programs. We do work with mostly seniors, but then sometimes we work with younger people too.
Smiley: So there are, as we've said, so many different opportunities that High Country Volunteers helps connect volunteers with in all these communities. Can you identify — maybe there's not a biggest impact, but something that you really feel like is impactful that High Country Volunteers has been able to bridge and make sure that people are getting the services they need — are able to be connected with volunteer opportunities they may not have been able to previously?
Good: Well, personally, since I'm organizing the Medicare program, we're preparing right now for open enrollment, and there are so many seniors in the area that are so confused, and we're just excited to be able to help them out.
Smiley: So, if someone comes to you for those services, what does that look like? Can you kind of take me through the main bullet points?
Good: You'd be amazed at all the different — everybody's situation is different. Everybody has different questions, different problems. We have research. We have counselors that have been trained. It's just an exciting way to help the seniors.
Smiley: It's a really wonderful thing to be able to connect people with information when they don't have access to that, or that can really improve their lives to be able to have access to that healthcare. So we've talked about some of the many programs that connect volunteers and the programs that are housed within High Country Volunteers itself. I'm wondering if you can tell me about what's coming up next, if there are projects or things that you're especially looking forward to in the next little bit, or what you might want to ask people to chip in on?
Moon: Yeah, we've got two things coming up. The first is Sept. 11 Day of Service. We are putting together a group volunteer event where people will come and pack up activity kit craft bags for children in pediatric hospitals. So we're looking for up to 120 volunteers to join us that day to put up 911 of these bags that we'll send off to area hospitals. So that's the first and most upcoming event.
The other thing we're working on right now is a youth volunteer program. Data says that two-thirds of all adults who volunteer started volunteering when they were young, and so if we want to have a community of volunteers, we've got to teach youth to volunteer. So we're working on a volunteer program for our high school students coming up.
Smiley: Awesome! How can people connect with that if they want to get more information?
Moon: Yeah, our website is highcountryvolunteers.org, and you can find everything there.
Smiley: Anything else you want to add about your organization here at the nonprofit Volunteer Fair this afternoon?
Moon: No, we just want to help these local nonprofits that are doing such good work in our community help expand their ability to fulfill their missions with volunteers.
Good: Thank you for the opportunity.
Smiley: Yes, thank you so much for joining me here at the Nonprofit Volunteer Fair. You've been listening to a conversation with Mary Moon and Laura Kay Good of High Country Volunteers.
Support for this nonprofit spotlight series comes from the Aspen Community Foundation.
