Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month-August 2026

Ryan Budnick is our August Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month! His journey with Extreme Community Makeover began in the summer of 2023, when his neighborhood organization partnered with ECM for a workday in West Colfax. He showed up ready to help—and found himself collecting debris, and hauling trash bags throughout the neighborhood.

He enjoyed the experience enough that he returned to ECM and eventually joined the Video Team, where he uses his background in journalism and local television to help tell the stories of Denver neighborhoods and the people who call them home.

How did you first get involved in Extreme Community Makeover?

Ryan first connected with ECM through his neighborhood organization, which hosted a work day in West Colfax in the summer of 2023. He remembers driving the ECM truck and going through the alleys collecting debris and bags for the dumpsters.

“I’ve kind of always been one to volunteer, and you give back,” he said. “It’s a job that no one else wants, but I’m like, sure, I’ll take that job.”

After that first experience, he knew he wanted to stay involved. In 2024, he joined the ECM team and began volunteering with video.

With a background that includes newspaper reporting and working in local television news at Channel 2 and Channel 7, Ryan brings a unique skill set to ECM. Today, through his video production company, he helps capture and share the stories of the neighborhoods and volunteers that make ECM’s work possible.

What is your favorite story about connecting with volunteers?

One of Ryan’s favorite ECM experiences came during a Go: Westwood day, when he was working on a neighborhood history story. He met a longtime Westwood resident, Conchita, and listened as she shared stories about growing up in the neighborhood.

She talked about homes with dirt floors, families building their own adobe homes, and a time when neighbors looked out for one another. If someone had extra food from their garden, they shared it. People knew their neighbors, helped each other, and cared for one another’s children.

For Ryan, those stories were a reminder of how much people still crave that sense of community.

“I think nowadays there’s such a lack of community, and I think there’s a huge portion of the population that is looking for that community again.”

He sees that same spirit in ECM. Volunteers and residents who may have never met before come together, work side by side, and begin building connections.

How do you see ECM making an impact in Denver neighborhoods?

For Ryan, the physical improvements are important—alleys get cleaned, houses and fences get painted, and residents receive help with projects that might otherwise be difficult to tackle.

But he believes the biggest impact goes beyond the work itself.

“I think it’s more important what goes beyond that, is it kind of goes back to that community.”

He loves seeing residents come outside, get curious about what is happening, pitch in for an hour or two, or bring refreshments for the volunteers. Those small interactions can break down barriers and help people connect with their neighbors.

“I think that’s the most important thing, because I think it’s scary reaching out and talking to strangers nowadays.”

For anyone considering volunteering with ECM, Ryan says there’s no need to make a huge commitment. “You don’t have to commit to more than you want to do. If it’s just one weekend in the spring or fall, that’s great. You can volunteer as much or as little as works for you.”

Sometimes all it takes is a few hours, a willingness to help, and a chance to meet the people who live right next door.

Congratulations Ryan!

Congratulations to Ryan for being ECM’s Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month for August! Learn more about how you can also get involved in the Extreme Teams. Check back in September to see who Steve nominated to be the next Volunteer of the Month!