7 minute read

FEATURE

A chance to shine

Scott Titterington

SOMETIMES WE JUST FIND OUR MOMENT TO RISE. Bob and Jan Eastin grabbed just such an opportunity as the pandemic was starting to grow. The United Way of Weld County put out a call for people to make masks and the Eastins dove in. Over three months, they made and delivered 900 masks to the agency, helping to prevent the spread of the virus and to keep people safe.

Volunteering looks different in these days of COVID-19.

“The face of volunteering has changed,” says Craig Secher, president and founder of Realities for Children, “but the needs of our children haven’t changed.”

SAFETY FIRST

Organizations, including nonprofits, are working hard to continue to support community members in need with new strategies that keep both their volunteers and their beneficiaries safe while still serving the growing needs of their communities.

“Our distribution drives have had to change so much because of all of the safety mandates,” says Mehgan Castor, community outreach coordinator at Realities for Children, “yet we are not only still running distributions, but doing so in a safe way that volunteers can participate in in critical roles.”

Nicole Quinn, donor engagement manager at United Way of Weld County, has found that people want to contribute if there is a way to do it safely.

“Volunteers still want to be actively engaged in organizations that they support even if it means doing so from their homes,” Nicole says. “We have been able to engage volunteers through our Mask Up 4 Weld, Hygiene Kit, Diaper Kit and Sleeping Mat projects.”

Volunteer Services Program Manager for the City of Fort Collins Sue Schafer echoes the enthusiasm that she receives from volunteers. “People want to help their neighbors and their community,” she says, “so we have not seen the desire to volunteer slow down!”

Sue highlights, as a great volunteer opportunity for retired or working adults, VirtuVisit, which connects isolated older adults to family, friends and the volunteers supporting them.

ON A MISSION

People volunteer for a variety of reasons. Some like the connection to community, others are focused on the folks that they’re helping, while others like being part of something bigger than themselves.

“I love being surrounded by people with wild ideas about changing the world for the better and finding ways to protect and serve these kids,” says Realities for Children Volunteer of

the Year Hayley Carson. “With every Realities event I do, I connect to my community, to leaders, to a cause that speaks to me and to something bigger than myself.”

ALL ABOUT CHOICE

We all like to do different things and we also bring different experiences and skill sets. Finding a good fit where you feel welcome and believe what you are doing is contributing to the health and welfare of people, animals or our environment seems key to staying engaged in any particular activity.

“People are passionate about different causes and we offer many options at the

THE BOUNCE BACK

While your motivation may be to help out where you can, you will also reap many benefits of your own. For starters, you might just feel some satisfaction after you spent your day building that house or sewing those masks or walking a dog. It’s no small thing to take a moment and soak in the feeling that the world is a little better today because of something you did.

And maybe when you did whatever it was, you learned something new. Maybe you picked up a new skill or a saw a different way to work with people.

And when you were out doing a little trail maintenance or delivering some food to someone, you struck up a conversation and you might even have laughed a little and exchanged contact information so that you could connect with your new friend later.

And then there are the welldocumented health quality-of-life benefits for people who volunteer regularly such as living longer, being more physically active, having a more optimistic outlook, and more purpose in life.

So take the leap some day soon. You never know where that path might lead you.

Getting started If you want to explore volunteer opportunities, the following list is a good place to start. Also, check out our larger list of volunteer opportunities on page 41.

Cities and counties

• City of Fort Collins, www.fcgov.com/volunteer/, www.fcgov.com/ volunteer/virtuvisit • City of Greeley, https://greeleygov.com/activities/volunteer • City of Loveland, www.cityofloveland.org/services/human-resources/ volunteer-program • Larimer County, www.nocovolunteers.org

Organizations

• American Red Cross, www.redcross.org/volunteer/volunteeropportunities.html • United Way of Larimer County, http://uwaylc.org/get-involved • United Way of Weld County, http://volunteer.unitedway-weld.org • Realities for Children, www.realitiesforchildren.com/get-involved/ volunteer/

Food support

• Food Bank for Larimer County, https://foodbanklarimer.org/volunteer/ • Weld Food Bank, https://weldfoodbank.org/volunteer/ • Meals on Wheels, https://www.mealsonwheelsfc.org/volunteer-0 https://www.lovelandmealsonwheels.org/volunteer https://www.mealsonwheelsgreeley.com/volunteer/

Furry friend support

• Animal Friends Alliance, www.savinganimalstoday.org/volunteer/ • Humane Society of Weld County, www.weldcountyhumane.org/volunteer • Larimer Humane Society, www.larimerhumane.org/get-involved/volunteer/ Opportunities for the season The holidays are a time of great generosity. The opportunities below can help make the holidays a little more special.

Realities for Children

www.realitiesforchildren.com Support neglected and abused children through these holiday events and distributions. Information about their volunteer opportunities is on the website. • Bikes For Tykes—order online or go shopping with a grandchild to donate a bicycle for a child. • Santa’s Workshop—check website for locations to drop off new toys. • NightLights—sponsor a light on the

NightLights tree or take the Champions for

Children Challenge and recruit 30 people to sponsor a light. Also, help take down lights in January.

Santa Cops

Help with fundraising, toy pickups, sorting, making craft items, gift-wrapping, data entry, program coordination, donating toys and monetary donations. • Weld County, https://greeleypd.com/santacops/ • Larimer County, https:// santacopslarimercounty.org/

PAY YOURSELF FIRST

Each month, you settle down to pay bills. You pay your mortgage lender. You pay the electric company. You pay the trash collector. But do you pay yourself? One of the most-basic tenets of sound investing involves the simple habit of “paying yourself first” – in other words, making your first payment of each month a deposit into your savings account. The trick is to prioritize. Make it a point to put your future first. At first, saving may mean a small lifestyle change. But most individuals want to see their net worth increase steadily. For them, finding ways to save becomes more of a long-term commitment than a short-term challenge.

What will you do with the money you save? We can help! We will work together to stop the ravages of inflation and taxes on your money, so that you can keep more of what you earn. We are a family owned private wealth management firm. And, we’re celebrating our 25th year in business in 2020! We use tax planning and tested investment strategies so that you and your family will keep more of what you have earned. We take pride in personal and timely service and building long term relationships.

Fassi Financial works with you to develop trustworthy and realistic customized financial plans.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

• Establish investment policy statements • Allocate assets according to your personal needs and financial goals • Review your financial plan on a regular basis

Give us a call today at 970-416-0088 – we’d love to meet with you for video conference coffee, which includes a Starbucks Gift Card!

WEALTH-PRESERVATION

• Utilize tactical asset allocation strategies • Take advantage of tax strategies so you keep more of what you earn • Identify opportunities to transfer risk to a third party when possible

INCOME-DISTRIBUTION

• Income needs analysis • Review tax implications • Make sure you do not outlive your money • Maximize Social Security Income • Utilize tax strategies, including 72T, to receive retirement income penalty free

WEALTH-TRANSFER

• Evaluate Estate Tax implications • Review Trusts, Wills and Beneficiary Designations • Identify Business Continuation Strategies

We also provide financial training through the Financial Educators Network (FEN). Topics include:

• What will retirement look like? • Early retirement concerns • Social Security “When should I take it?” • Non-traditional investments • How to protect my hard-earned assets

Check out www.financialeducatorsnetwork.org for more information.

Providing excellent personal service to all of our clients is a top priority at Fassi Financial. Securities and advisory services offered through Centaurus Financial, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC, a Registered Investment

Advisor. Centaurus Financial, Inc. and Fassi Financial and Financial Educator’s Network are not affiliated companies.

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