The week from April 19 to 25th is dedicated to “Celebrating People in Action” – honoring the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities.

Here at the Matthews House we rely heavily on the dedication, commitment and passion of volunteers. Our volunteers offer significant support to disadvantaged youth both by working behind the scenes (i.e. admin work, cleaning, fundraising) and directly with youth (i.e. one-on-one mentoring, providing rides, leading groups). They are the heart and soul of the Matthews House and we absolutely could not give the quality care and support that we give without our volunteers.

Since it is National Volunteer Week, this seems like a particularly fitting time to take the opportunity to recognize and thank some of our most committed volunteers.

In 2008, we had over 110 active volunteers, who gave over 4200 hours of their time and energy to insure that youth who were once without hope were given the tools, skills and support they needed to learn to dream and to create new paths for their lives! We’d like to especially recognize seven volunteers who each gave over 100 hours in 2008:

Over 100 Volunteer hours:

Dave Brown
Elly Wiebe
Matt Martin
Bob Addleman

Over 200 Volunteer hours:

Cliff Bergren
Cathy Rotman

Way over 200 Volunteer hours:

Jerri Howe

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS – YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!

Want to learn more about making a difference through mentoring?

Join the Larimer County Mentoring Coalition this Thursday, April 23rd from 4 – 6pm at Reader’s Cove to explore the opportunities for mentoring in Larimer County

For more information contact
Kathleen Vasa
E-mail:  voarsvp@frii.com
970.472.9630

You may never have given much thought to how the Juvenile Justice System in Larimer County works, but this part of our judicial system affects many youth and their families in our community and it can sometimes seem a little complicated.

I’ll be honest, I never thought too much about the system, until I started working at the Matthews House. Then I started seeing how the system played a role in the lives of some of our youth, their families, their extended families and their friends. I started meeting individual people -  youth who’ve tangled with the system and the people in their lives helping them rebuild and change direction. I’ve met parole officers who care deeply about the youth they work with, and I’ve met youth who are trying to make good, but starting 20 steps behind because they are first having to dig themselves out of a deep hole dug by generational poverty and poor role modeling. It’s been interesting learning more about how we as a community and as individuals address the issues of justice as they pertain to youth.

Whether you’ve never thought much about it or you’ve been impacted by the system directly, you’re invited to come learn more.

On Monday, April 13th you have the chance to hear from and engage in discussion with two experts: Randall Lococo, a Fort Collins attorney who has had extensive experience defending juveniles in the Larimer County Juvenile Justice system and Robert Percifield, Deputy District Attorney, Juvenile Division, 8th Judicial District.

When: Monday, April 13th from 7 – 9pm
Where: Coloradoan Community Meeting Room, 1500 Riverside Ave, Fort Collins

This opportunity to learn more about juvenile justice in our community is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Larimer County.