Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month - February 2026

Harlan VanOort is the February “Extreme Teams Volunteer of the Month!” When Donna nominated him, she said “I know him well and he truly fills in on weekdays when there's nobody else to.” Harlan is on the Projects Team. His longtime commitment and hard work are always appreciated on Work Days. On days when Harlan is an Extreme Teams volunteer, he can be seen driving the truck, lifting heavy trash bags, and rearranging the dumpster. Keep reading to hear more from Harlan about his experience with Extreme Community Makeover.

How did you first hear about Extreme Community Makeover?

Harlan got connected to Extreme Community Makeover in an unique way. He was Angela’s (Executive Director) college professor in Iowa. They stayed in contact after she graduated and she even lived with Harlan’s parents when she first moved to Denver. Neither of them remember exactly when Harlan got involved, but it was inevitable that he join the Extreme Teams. “I've known Angela since she was in college, so it was kind of a matter of course, and she's pretty convincing.” Harlan joined the projects team “because Angela said so” but she knew his teaching skills, spacial awareness, and focus on safety would be a perfect fit for the team. He jokes that his love of dumpsters was his second reason for joining that team.

What is something unique you have experienced on a Work Day?

When you volunteer with ECM for many years, it can be hard to remember specific Work Days. But a day during summer 2024 sticks out to Harlan. “One of the most unique days was when we had a group of police recruits. That was just fantastic.” Harlan found them to be hard workers, of course, but was really happy to be able to be a part of their learning about the city of Denver. “I think police recruits learned a lot. Walk in an alley, you learn a lot, and I think that was a great thing.” ECM often works with police during Go: Westwood and other Work Days, but that was the first time ECM was a part of the training for new recruits.

Do you have a favorite story about volunteering with ECM?

Since ECM began working in the North Denver neighborhoods, the highway expansion project was approved and eventually completed. This has had a major impact on the Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea neighborhoods and their residents. One Work Day in Globeville in particular, Harlan volunteered alongside a group of engineers for the highway department. “I started listening to these engineers and how they had been working on the I-70 project. And now they were in the trenches of the neighborhood that would be affected by them. And you could tell that their eyes were open to new thoughts. ‘We're impacting these people, and we have to do things differently because of that.’ I was just so impressed with these engineers, but then to see them learn from the neighborhood was really cool.”

How do you see the Projects Team making an impact during Work Days?

The Projects Team has the most tasks to complete on a Work Day. Projects Team volunteers drive the ECM truck and visit every project site making sure the volunteers are completing their tasks and being safe. They also pick up all trash and play “dumpster Tetris” to fit all waste for the day into the dumpster. Harlan is a dumpster Tetris expert. “Nobody understands it until you've done about 10 dumpsters, and you're never going to learn to play it on the 1st day. It's an acquired skill.” Harlan has acquired his Tetris skills over 10+ years of Work Days with ECM, and many Tuesday and Thursday Work Days in the summer where he is the only Projects Team volunteer. “The projects team works harder than all the other teams. Everything that a volunteer picks up and puts either in a bag, or heaven forbid in a pile, the Projects Team has to pick up twice. They have to pick it up and put it in the truck, and they have to pick it up again and put it in the dumpster. And so that is a lot of work, and overwhelming some days. And I guess I just like to be overwhelmed.”

Is there anything you have observed during Work Days that is special to you?

Harlan has been touched by the parent-child relationships he observes during Work Days. “The things that have impacted me the most as I've watched these volunteers, is when parents volunteer with their kids. When parents and kids work together, wow. When it happens, there's something extra that takes place, a magical kind of impacting thing in their relationship and in the way they see the world that I think is really good.” ECM provides whole family volunteer opportunities, so seeing parent-child relationships bloom during a Work Day is not rare, but it does feel special to see every time families choose to spend time together volunteering.

“When you get to know the neighborhood and you do what you can to make things better, that's a good thing. It's being a neighbor.”

Congratulations Harlan!

Congratulations to Harlan 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 March to see who Harlan nominated to be the next Volunteer of the Month!