Sangre De Cristo Volunteers For Community Inc

Volunteers were in the middle of an outside clean-up day at the VFC community center. A local resident arrived with a load of outdoor furniture to donate for a subsequent garage sale fundraiser. We told him the person who was responsible for taking in the furniture would arrive on about an hour and invited him to help us for an hour. He evaluated our work, unhooked his trailer, went home and brought back a chain saw and spent the next 2 hours clearing dead wood from the site. It was awesome. This is a great example of the attitude of giving present in this community.

Sangre De Cristo Volunteers for Community (VFC) enhances Colorado City, the Greenhorn Valley, Huerfano County and Custer County Colorado by generating and supporting a great many activities for young and old. A few: monthly free pantry, Easter Egg hunt for the younguns, local highway clean-up, Christmas gifts for youngsters, assisting a trail building initiative, and just providing assistance where needed. VFC, with the help of many gracious partners and volunteers, recently renovated the old west golf course club house to be a centrally building Community Center and is already benefiting the Community with events. With a completely unpaid and dedicated volunteer staff and a great many members that volunteer multitudes of hours of time VFC is truly an asset to our community. After moving to Colorado City 6 years ago I was so impressed with the selfless attitude and community involvement of VFC I decided to join. VFC exemplifies the basic goodness of helping each other.

SANGRE DE CRISTO VOLUNTEERS FOR COMMUNITY has been a blessing to me. Many opportunities I've been made aware of since moving to Colorado City 3 years ago. They give generous gifts of toys & clothing to at least 100 children every Christmas, free food panty once a month, collect cardboard once a month with no cost to the people. They also have two big sales twice a year to help with the cost of all the projects they perform for the community. Now a brand new community center has been opened to better serve the community. All of the work is done by volunteers who care for this community. GREAT WORK

VFC is an all volunteer, grass roots organization doing wonderful work in the Greenhorn Valley of southern Colorado. I had the pleasure of getting involved in this organization in 2009 and it's still going strong!

As a founding member and a board member for most of the past twelve years, my life has increasingly centered around activities of the Sangre de Cristo Volunteers for Community (VFC). Upon retiring from teaching careers and moving to a new town, my husband and I were delighted to find a group that engaged us in making tangible, daily contributions to our community. VFC has so many projects going on that it was easy to find several that matched our talents and experience while also helping to improve the quality of life in this area. We helped start a community garden where individuals may grow food in their own plots and/or produce vegetables for clients of our open pantry. As a Master Gardener without a yard where a vegetable garden would be safe from destruction by hungry deer, I work there with my husband every day during the growing season, getting needed exercise, enjoying beautiful surroundings, and creating a beauty spot where flowers attract birds and butterflies (good for the spirit!), and growing fresh organic food for a healthful diet. We also help move donations to our building for the fund-raising yard sale and sell donated books and records to raise money for holiday gifts for kids and for the community center that will soon host activities and events for everyone. In this semi-rural, spread-out community, it is often hard to meet one's neighbors. Our network of friends has developed through VFC, providing social contact along with the chance to provide service to others. Leadership and volunteering are all labors of love for the energetic participants in VFC, which requests donations of volunteer time rather than hefty dues payments, so everyone can participate regardless of economic status. This is truly an inclusive organization that I'm sure will continue to find ways to enhance the quality of life in this part of southern Colorado.

We live in a rural area and like most rural areas, volunteers are the greatest resource to aid our forgotten communities. Our group of VFC volunteers work in many areas from a food pantry, school supplies, road cleanup, recycling, building and maintaining hiking trails, beautifying our community, to providing Christmas gifts and clothing to our area children. It really doesn't stop there because our volunteers come up with other ways to assist in making our rural area a better place to live. We have a wonderful diversified group and welcome anyone that wishes to join our efforts to keep our rural communities a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Helping each other is so satisfying!!!

Everything I’ve seen and heard about this volunteer organization inspires me to give what I can. In a time when big charities are run like big corporations and paying founders and executives lavishly, it’s refreshing to see a group of volunteers cooperating to make the surrounding towns better places to live. They do holiday giving, run a food pantry, and they purchased a building they’re almost done renovating that will soon open as a community center for all types of enriching events. Everyone I’ve met is selflessly and enthusiastically giving - paying it forward! Thank you!

So proud of this group! It's an inspiration to our rural community, and has helped so many families here by providing food every month at the pantry and holiday gifts at Christmas. Cardboard recycling is another benefit here where it isn't easy to recycle.

Sangre de Cristo VFC offers wonderful opportunities for people in the Greenhorn valley to volunteer in a variety of projects: knit blankets for the vets in the vets’ home in Walsenburg, collect food for the food pantry that is essential for many locals in need, pick up trash on the highways, teach reading/ art/anything in the schools, help with the Easter egg hunt or with a huge community- wide yard sale.
Moreover, those who come to receive food at the food pantry are not asked to surrender pride. They seem to be enjoying themselves too.
Abundance is best when shared and VFC lives by that sentiment.

This wonderful group of people work so hard and accomplish so much...like school backpacks for kids, Easter egg hunts for kids, a food bank, and kids can ask for what they want for Christmas and get it, gift wrapped of course!
It serves a very rural community and is well organized, well run and doing fantastic things for both adults and children.

I have volunteered and donated, and wish this group could be replicated in every community around the world! Wonderful people, wonderful programs, wonderful vision! I have since moved out of the area, but continue to be impressed with all they are doing!

Among the many good things that VFC does for the community, one of the most fun ones is the annual garage sale. Due to covid, it has been set back and missed for a couple of years, but will be held again in 2022. It is a really fun event for many of the people in the area and the prices are extremely low, giving people a chance to stock up on items they thought they could not otherwise afford. The community generously donates all garage sale items to VFC that they no longer wish to keep.
Many volunteers help set up this sale and all are appreciated.

This nonprofit is all-volunteer. They have no staff and no one gets paid anything. They do all the work themselves, and they do a lot and have fun at the same time! They have been in our Greenhorn Valley communities for 13 years. Their pantry is every fourth Saturday, and I don't think they have missed a Saturday giving out food, even with Covid they have a drive through pantry. They are renovating a building now which will be a community center and nature center. They knit together and buy gifts for children and have an Easter egg hunt. Besides that they clean the highways and collect cardboard free for recycling. They are a great asset to our Greenhorn Valley area

I was able to be a part of the community in helping others and making a differance. I met some wonderful people with giving hearts who play a major role in my life.

The Sangre De Cristo Volunteers for Community Inc. has been such a positive organization in our and surrounding communities. It brings people together in so many ways through food collection, gardening, fund raising, recycling, knitting, gifts for children at Christmastime, and other charitable activities. Not only is it a fantastic way to "give back" to our communities, but it is a wonderful way to get to know one another, especially if you are new to the area.

Been working with this organization for a few years and am so amazed at all the special things they come up with to help the community. Everyone is so helpful and quick to serve. From collecting and giving out food and goods, to rummage sales, community events, and so much more. Things like school supplies and winter clothing and assisting schools and seniors. I am proud to be a part of such a great asset.

I have been a Member and a Board Member since V.F.C. was formed in 2009 and have watched in admiration the dedication of both my fellow board members and the scores of volunteers as we have grown to be one of the largest and most active non-partisan, non-sectarian non-profits in our area.
Our commitment to creating permanent assets which will benefit our community for the foreseeable future is epitomized in our recent purchase of an unused golf course clubhouse and our ongoing (successful) efforts, in coordination with both City and County authorities, to re-purpose the building and the abandoned 9 hole golf course into a world class LEED building and Nature center.

This is an organization with a vision of the future which is as inspiring as the incredible vistas which frame our new home. An investment in the good works of Sangre de Cristo VFC will make a lasting affect on the quality of life for thousands of residents and visitors for generations to come.

This is a wonderful organization that works sooooooooooo hard to help people in our community!! The people who volunteer are always willing to lend a hand to help others!! They set up places where people can come and get food that they need,just to survive!! They spend countless hours just being kind and doing all they can to help those in our community

I have watched VFC grow from a dozen or so volunteers, to well over 100 members. The main fundraiser has gone from tables and covers in a local real estate parking lot, to a building filled with items for an annual yard sale. It has gone from xmas presents for a couple dozen children, to over a hundred. Highway cleanup, food pantry, library and school work; all have made a huge difference in this small community.

Sangre de Cristo Volunteers for Community has sponsored Kids Knit ( knitting for kids at Gardner School, and I have been one of the knitters helping out. It has been fun and interesting to see the students merrily knitting away. Everything from the Mexican flag that Joseph knit to baby blankets for dolls and hats. They have an adult knitting group that knits hats for needy kids for Christmas gifts. They purchase presents for these kids, have a huge wrapping party and help Santa hand out presents. They have been cleaning up highways, recycling cardboard, collecting food donations for the local food pantries and hold parties for various holidays. They collect donated items all year and hold a huge garage sale to support their activities. They are also raising funds to restore the old golf course building and actively solicit grants to accomplish their goals of making the place a real community gathering place with varied activities offered to the community. They routinely solicit ideas from the community to see what residents are interested in seeing happen there. Roz McCain, Gardner, CO

After retiring and moving here from CA, I was looking for volunteer opportunities in my new community. I was directed immediately to VFC by neighbors who were deeply involved in its many and varied volunteer endeavors. I was welcomed by volunteer staff and recipients alike and amazed by the vast spectrum of volunteer choices--- food pantry distribution and collection, fundraising, Easter egg hunts, Christmas present donations, knitting, garage/yard/rummage sales, barn dances, etc. Uses for all kinds of talents! A great group of people to work with and for!

Sangre De Cristo Volunteers For Community Inc. is the only non-profit in the Colorado City/Rye area fueled by our own citizens that helps provide human services for low income families and seniors in our community. Leader Susan Kalman is a great humanitarian who is even willing to meet residents for breakfast to share her compassionate ideas and lend a helping hand in a variety of venues. Sangre De Cristo Volunteers For Community Inc. is truly the heart of our community. We would be lost without them.

In a rural , economically challenged but close knit community, this group makes a real difference for the good of all . Collecting food for food banks, Christmas presents and parties for children, picking up trash, cardboard recycling, starting a community center and more... so many things they do to improve lives for everyone here.
Huge thanks to these dedicated volunteers !

Volunteers for Community has been going strong for many years. Its volunteers provide services to support and enhance local schools, a nursing home, food banks, recycling, clean up and maintenance services, provide Christmas gifts for needy children, host Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts, and much more. It is currently in the process of purchasing and refurbishing a former community center to house its indoor activities and provide a permanent home for its hugely successful garage sales, which provide significant donations to community organizations which provide a full range of services to enhance the lives of many. My personal involvement is as one of a group of volunteers who collect food donations for our local food bank and purchasing Christmas presents for children. SDCVFC is a jewel of light in one of the poorest counties in Colorado, helping to promote joy and improved quality of life for so many.

VFC takes on a lot to help the local residents. More than just the monthly Pantry, we do road cleanup twice per year, collect cardboard for recycling every month, host an Easter Egg Hunt for youngsters, and assist with reading and math as needed at the local elementary school. My favorite volunteer role is Shopping as a Secret Santa every year for toys for local kids who may not get any other gift.

I have been a resident of the Greenhorn Valley for 15 years. Over the last 10 years I have become increasing involved in the organization known as the Sangre de Cristo Volunteers for Community. VFC has taken on the tasks of serving the residents of this area and those who have needs in Huerfano County, a few miles to the south, where poverty levels are even greater. The food pantry program and support for children in the schools and during the holidays has been welcomed. The efforts to acquire an unused building in Colorado City and plans to renovate it have been a focus of the VFC group. The facility and surrounding public property have the potential to offer the larger community a much needed place for community gatherings, recreation, and educational programs. The need for this facility is great and something the local government entities can not provided without the assistance of the VFC group and those who choose to support VFC efforts.

The VFC brings resources to a much needed area. This small, dedicated group of individuals pour their hearts into these projects that mean so much to the community. So many of us benefit not only from volunteering, but utilizing these resources as well. From the open pantry to cardboard recycling, we are all involved and appreciate the dedication to giving back.

I live in the second poorest county in Colorado. SCVFC works to expand opportunities for aid and assistance in this county and 2 other adjacent counties. I have worked as a volunteer in the past and have seen their good work up close and continue to see them grow and expand their mission although I can no longer volunteer. They do so in our community through assisting at the local Veteran's home, by collecting food donations at the markets, by providing Christmas gifts for needy children, through, volunteering at the local libraries, and by many other good deeds. Each year they have expanded their mission and have taken on large projects to aid their communities. The guiding members are thoughtful and caring and oh so nice. Truly an organization that is adding so much benefit to a sometimes broken world.

I live half the year on the East Coast and half the year in Colorado. I have worked for and volunteered for non profits for many years. THis is the most satisfying volunteer experience I have ever had. It is not just the wonderful volunteers with whom I interact, but every little bit that I do really makes a difference. The need is so great, the volunteers so dedicated, and the public so responsive, that this is a very rewarding experience. Knowing that the little I do makes a difference is a wonderful feeling. I get more than I give with this group.