Communications Team Blog Post : April 24
Go: Westwood always brings together a wide array of groups and individuals for a common goal of cleaning the Westwood neighborhood, and this year was no different. Each group may have come for a different reason – some with a few members, and some with over a hundred – but each volunteer was excited and willing to work together towards making the streets, parks and alleys of the Westwood neighborhood happier and healthier for the community.
2WR
2WR, an architecture firm based in Centennial, volunteered with ECM as one of their twenty ways to serve in honor of their 20th anniversary. The outgoing group worked hard collecting debris along the street – they were organized, motivated, and gladly spent the day away from their computers, serving the community by clearing debris from the sidewalks along Morrison road.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship not only cleared the area they were initially tasked with of debris – when they finished early, this group of college students decided to spend their time clearing the surrounding weeds as well. “We like ECM because they listen to the needs of the community and act accordingly.” One member told us – being sensitive to the needs of the Denver community and stepping out in action is important to their group, and we were lucky to have them team up with ECM to do that together.
Phi Delta Theta
The Phi Delta Theta fraternity from CU Boulder brought a little extra life to the day, playing music as they freshened up a neighborhood playground and cleaned up piles of branches from a recent storm. They were new to ECM but were not new to service. They brought a few new members as well to instill the focus on serving communities early in their college career. After a difficult year of primarily online classes, they were glad to spend time together and work towards a physical goal together.
BuCu West
For the BuCu West group, it was the planters in front of the office they were in charge of re-painting, so they were very invested in their work and excited to make their office view a little brighter. They are ECM experts and volunteer with us often – and we were so thankful to have us join for our community effort!
Westwood Unidos
The Westwood Unidos group could be seen all around the neighborhood before the day started, laughing and chatting while they served their own friends and neighbors by clearing debris and downed branches from their alleys. With 160 willing and excited volunteers, it was clear that this neighborhood and this community is important to them, and that they believed that every cleared alley makes a huge difference for their neighbors. Together, the group cleared eighteen alleys.
Individuals
The individuals that joined us for GO: Westwood quickly became a cohesive group of their own – you would not have known that they had just met. They laughed and enjoyed lunch together on their break, and many individuals stayed late to ensure everything was wrapped up and say goodbye to their new friends.
“We like ECM because they listen to the needs of the community and act accordingly.”
GO: Westwood is a large endeavor, and because the needs of each street and alley aren’t as known in advance like most workdays, it relies on volunteers to divide and conquer, understand what is needed, and go above their call of duty to be a good neighbor to a whole community. When a group finished their work, they were quick to answer a call to help another. Groups came for different reasons, from various cities in Colorado and with different backgrounds and experiences, but during this day everyone was on the same team, and it was amazing to see how quickly such a large number of volunteers could work. Residents walked out of their way to thank these hard-working volunteers, “I live down the street, and I’ve been wanting to clean up this alley myself, but I didn’t think I’d be able to alone,” one resident told us. A few of the Westwood residents walked out of their homes to help the volunteers load heavy branches. It was truly a community effort. We look forward to another successful Go: Westwood next year!
- Anja & Lizzy, Communications Team