Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month - August 2025
Lizzy Borsch is the August “Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month!” When Jean nominated her, she said “I have seen her serve cheerfully and faithfully as an Extreme Teams member.” Lizzy is on the Communications Team, as well as being a Supper Club delivery driver. Her engagement and hard work are always appreciated on Work Days. On days when Jean is an Extreme Teams volunteer, she can be seen speaking with residents about their neighborhood and helping complete projects. Keep reading to hear more from Lizzy about her experience with Extreme Community Makeover.
What is you favorite story about connecting with a community partner, resident, or volunteer?
Being on the Communications Team allows Lizzy to talk with lots of different people with Extreme Community Makeover. It is hard for her to choose one specific interaction she has had, since she has talked to so many people in the last five years on the Extreme Teams. “I really love hearing people’s stories who have lived in a neighborhood for a really long time and have seen it change, and a lot of times that means that some residents see their communities change, and it feels like it's moving on without them a little bit. So I think it elevates their story, which is a big thing that I kind of like to do on the Communications Team.”
“I could see how much of a difference it makes in just one day of hard work, it makes a huge difference to people's homes. Home is really important to me and a lot of people, so that was my driving force.”
How do you see the Communications Team making an impact during Work Days?
The Communications Team serves as a connection between the volunteers and the residents, and helps highlight the stories of the neighborhoods served. “I think sometimes volunteers don't know how much to engage with residents. I have taken my role to make sure that the volunteers talk to the community that they're working with, both to make sure that everyone's on the same page of what's happening, but also that they feel like it's an open line of communication and it's really a team effort.” Lizzy emphasizes that ECM does projects “with” not “for” and that the whole process is a collaboration. “ That's been my favorite part: to understand the stories of why the volunteers are there, why the residents are there and also to connect those two pieces, those two voices.”
How do you see ECM making an impact in Denver neighborhoods?
Lizzy appreciates that ECM is so focused on Denver, she thinks it allows the volunteers to make a bigger impact while focusing on the micro stories. She also loves the physical transformations that ECM completes, which was a big part of the motivation for her to join the Extreme Teams originally in 2020. “I think that there's value in cities wanting to keep their city clean and put together. But I think that is just tactically really hard for residents that don't have as much financial support behind keeping alleys and yards clean and it's really hard for. So being able to release some of the pressure, both from the city and then also release the physical stress that comes with having clutter makes a really big impact. We know that because people tell us that time and time again.”
Why do you think it is important / beneficial to volunteer?
Volunteering, in Lizzy’s perspective, can be a tool to get people out of their heads. “I think it is very easy to live in your own bubble. I realized recently that stress will fill the space available. When you get in your own little world, I feel like we always feel like we have too much to do. And instead of taking things out, adding some kind of perspective, adding some kind of physical work, something outside of yourself actually helps decrease some of your own stress.” Extreme Community Makeover makes volunteering easy by setting volunteers up for success with organized systems and deep connections forged since founding in 2008. “I think that it’s incredibly valuable knowing that there is a need and knowing I have an ability to serve it.”
“I really appreciate the Extreme Teams specifically. I love all of our volunteers, but it’s really fun to have a lot of people from very different backgrounds with very different ways and reasons for getting into the Extreme Teams. That has been a really fun and important part of ECM. We have this friendship that makes us want to go to Work Days and see each other and serve together.”
Congratulations Lizzy!
Congratulations to Lizzy for being ECM’s Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month! Learn more about how you can also get involved in the Extreme Teams. Check back in September to see who Lizzy nominated to be Volunteer of the Month!
