It may sound cliché, but it’s the truth – the work we do at YouthZone wouldn’t be possible without your support. Each year, we serve almost 500 youth in Pitkin, Garfield, and Rio Blanco counties, and we impact more than 1,200 additional family members along the way. When clients come to work with us, they receive three to six months of services, and never have to pay more than $200 in total for their program. In some cases, our services are completely free. For a fraction of the cost of sending kids to juvenile detention, we’re able to provide comprehensive assessment, court advocacy, substance use education, life skills instruction, therapy, and restorative justice. 93% of YouthZone clients do not reoffend, and more than a third of them report improvement in their everyday lives. We’re extremely proud to offer maximum impact for minimal cost.

YouthZone isn’t the only organization that has an impact on our community. Almost 100 nonprofits in our area have joined together to form Mountain West Gives, a regional collaborative group that seeks to raise awareness about the many organizations that make our Roaring Fork and Grand River Valley communities so amazing. Mountain West Gives is a part of Colorado Gives Day, a statewide giving campaign launched in 2010 by First Bank that has raised more than $469 million for thousands of nonprofits in Colorado since its inception. This year, Colorado Gives Day is on Tuesday, Dec. 10, which means one of the largest giving campaigns of the entire year is already well underway.

For many nonprofits, end-of-year giving can make up more than 50% of their yearly donations. That’s where you come in. This year, I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Mountain West Gives Giving Guide, published by the Sopris Sun. Flip through it – maybe you’ll come across an organization that you’ve benefited from in the past, or maybe you’ll find a new nonprofit that you didn’t know existed. Using the Giving Guide is a great way to learn more about the missions of each nonprofit and find ones that align with your values. You can also use the search feature on the Colorado Gives Day webpage to sort organizations by field or cause.

Once you’ve found a nonprofit you’re interested in, we encourage you to donate. The Colorado Gives Day webpage makes it extremely easy to conduct secure digital transactions – you can add multiple donations to your cart and make a single payment. The Colorado Gives Foundation will also match all recurring donations up to $100 that are made before Dec. 10. If you prefer snail mail, many of your favorite organizations will gladly accept checks.

Here at YouthZone, we always prefer financial contributions of cash, stocks, and other securities, because they allow us to directly offset expenses such as salaries, building operating costs, supplies, and transportation. If you’re unable to contribute financially, consider donating professional services that offset operating costs or goods that we can auction off at our Spring Gala. Speak with your financial advisor to learn more about the many tax mechanisms that are available to you at this time of year. Finally, if you still can’t contribute in any of these ways, try having your friends and family donate to a nonprofit in lieu of gifts this holiday season, or write a letter to the editor asking your community to support your favorite organization.

This year, YouthZone’s goal is to raise $100,000 to support our vision of Hopeful Youth, Strong Families, and Safe Communities. I know each and every one of our Mountain West Gives partners have similar goals. We can’t achieve these goals without you, which is why we look forward to receiving your donation between now and Colorado Gives Day on Tuesday, Dec. 10. With your help, we can ensure that our communities continue to be some of the best places in Colorado to live, work, and play.  

The Giving Guide can be found at https://soprissun.com/giving-guide/, and you can donate to a Mountain West Gives partner by visiting https://www.coloradogives.org/community/Mountainwestgives.

YouthZone Deputy Development Director Ali Naaseh-Shahry is a Colorado native who holds degrees in international public policy from the University of Colorado (BA) and University College London (MSc). He moved to western Colorado in 2015 to teach six-and-under ski school at the Aspen Skiing Company. Ali has taught a wide variety of academic and experiential subjects to people of all ages. Most recently, he worked as a special education teacher with the Roaring Fork School District, where he used data-driven decision making to improve his delivery of specialized instruction. Ali enjoys lift-access powder skiing, raft-access fly fishing, and spending time with his cats.