Local Nonprofits are working together to raise awareness during Mentor Month.

The Larimer County Mentoring Coalition is celebrating January as National Mentor Month. Mentor Month is a national campaign, first introduced in 2002, which is spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project, MENTOR, and the Corporation for National and Community Service and focuses attention on the positive impact mentoring can have on young lives and the need for mentors in our communities. This campaign helps identify how each of us—individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities, and nonprofits—can work together to increase the number of mentors and assure brighter futures for our young people. “At any given time there are hundreds kids on mentoring waiting lists in Larimer County. Some of these kids get very discouraged, waiting years for a match.” said Kathleen Vasa, Volunteer Program Coordinator, Volunteers of America Northern Colorado Services.

"Thank Your Mentor Day" is January 22, 2009, which many mentoring programs select as a day of recognition for their volunteers and for Mentor Month. We encourage you to think of the mentors in your life—a team coach, teacher, concerned neighbor, or another caring adult—and take a few minutes to thank them and then consider becoming a mentor yourself. The Larimer County Mentoring Coalition consists of multiple mentoring organizations committed to raising awareness of the need for mentors, and to recruiting and retaining high quality mentors for children and young adults in Larimer County. Mentoring opportunities range in time commitment and availability to ensure there is an opportunity to fit any lifestyle.

Larimer County Mentoring Coalition members are Volunteers of America Northern Colorado Services, Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County, The Matthews House, Partners Mentoring Youth of Larimer County, Turning Point Center for Youth and Family Development, Larimer Center for Mental Health, and Larimer County Human Services, Children, Youth and Family Division.

“It’s our goal to become a one-stop-shop for all who are interested in becoming a mentor in Larimer County.” said Vasa, “Individuals who are interested can call 970-472-9630 for more information about mentoring and the mentoring opportunities in Larimer County.”

Written by

Kathleen Vasa, Volunteer Program Coordinator,

Volunteers of America Northern Colorado Services
(970) 472-9630
voarsvp@frii.com

If you are interested in mentoring or volunteering at the Matthews House, we'd love to have you. Please contact Steve

Throughout the month of January, Rodizio Grill in Fort Collins will be spreading the word about and raising funds for the Matthews House.

Every guest at Rodizio this month will have the opportunity to make a donation to the Matthews House and receive an equivalent amount in "Rodizio bucks".

So here's what that looks like,

1. You enjoy a delicious dinner at Rodizio Grill.

2. When you pay your bill, you donate $20 to the Matthews House.

3. You receive $20 toward your next delicious dinner at Rodizio.

That's like making a donation, without giving away any money.

I already know they've got some pretty tasty food, so this sounds like an amazingly good deal to me.

If you haven't been to Rodizio yet, now is the time.

If you have, it's a great time to come back to the table and bring some friends.

This month we want to tell you that we are thankful for our September Volunteer of the Month, Bob Addleman, who serves the Matthews House as our volunteer bookkeeper. His dedication and service above self is a tremendous asset to our organization. Bob has an incredibly caring heart for the youth and staff of the Matthews House and he humbly spends countless hours making sure our books are in order and our bills are paid.

Most people involved at the Matthews House will never see Bob, but he plays a critical role in the daily operations at the Matthews House. Because of the time and bookkeeping skills Bob generously shares with us, we not only have detailed and accurate books, but our administrative costs are kept much lower, which results in a higher percentage of each dollar raised going directly to program costs. That means that more of the hard-earned money you donate to the Matthews House goes straight to critical things like training mentors, helping youth apply to college and teaching job skills – just to give a few examples.

Thanks Bob for all you do and for your servants heart!

And thank you to all our volunteers and donors who make it possible each day for lives to be changed forever at the Matthews House!

Recently United Way of Larimer County awarded $35,000 to the Matthews House in the name of decreasing poverty in Larimer County. An abbreviated version of this announcement has been published in the Coloradoan, but for a little more info you can read the entire press release from United Way of Larimer County below.

United Way of Larimer County to Support Self-Sufficiency for At-Risk Youth
Often Overlooked Population Living in Poverty

[Larimer County, Colorado] – United Way of Larimer County announced today the organization will provide $35,000 to The Matthews House, a nonprofit organization in Fort Collins, as part of the effort to accomplish the goal of it’s Pathways Past Poverty initiative.

The funding for The Matthews House will come from United Way’s “Bridging the Gap Fund.” This fund is specifically for projects or work being done to address poverty from a multifaceted approach that works. The organization serves 16-21-year-old youth who have virtually no family, including those who are aging out of the foster care system and youth on parole.

“The Matthews House brings together the strategies to really address poverty for this population and gives them the skills to become self-sufficient,” said Gordan Thibedeau, president and CEO of United Way of Larimer County. He points out that The Matthews House serves an often overlooked population when it comes to poverty.

“We do everything that a parent would have done for them; life skills, job readiness, education,” said Jerri Howe, executive director and founder of The Matthews House. “We work with them so they can become independent.” Howe says the group currently serves more than 70 youth and the need is increasing.

The Pathways Past Poverty initiative is a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to poverty with the goal of turning the trend of increasing poverty around in Larimer County. During the last three years, dozens of community volunteers worked together to determine 12 goals for Pathways Past Poverty. Now, dozens more are researching and developing strategies to accomplish these goals.

Howe said, “I want to see that these youth have a different pathway and that their life is better and not dependent on numerous services so they can learn to be self-sufficient.”

United Way of Larimer County’s focus as an organization is to help people who are in need now while also working with community partners on ways to reduce that need in the future resulting in true community impact.

To learn more about Pathways Past Poverty and the 12 goals, visit www.pathwayspastpoverty.org.

The Wild West Relay is finally here!

Tomorrow morning, 1560 runners will start outside the Budweiser tour center and head towards Steamboat Springs Middle School, 200 miles away. Each team is made up of 12 runners who will each run three separate times, rain or shine, up and down mountains, across the continental divide, through the night – nothing short of an adventure to be sure.For our two teams, this is a trek that will take between 25 and 30 hours. We’re not going to win any medals, but we will be enjoying a chance to run in amazing scenery, enjoy the company of great people, and raise some money for a great cause.
Now that all the preparations have been made, there is just the actual event to come. Before the sun even thinks of coming up tomorrow, we will be piling in the vans that will be our homes for the next day and a half. Once Runner #1 sets out around 6:30am, the trek is on and everyone will take turns running until we reach Steamboat, sometime Saturday afternoon.

I want to thank all our dedicated runner/fundraisers and all those who have generously donated to the Matthews House by supporting these runners. We’ve reached nearly $6,000 already, with one more week for donations to continue flowing in. (Please join us by making a donation.)

Join us at Everyday Joe’s Coffee House tomorrow night, July 29th at 7pm to hear some great music, eat homemade desserts and bid on fabulous silent auction items. This event is being put on by the runners on the Matthews House Wild West Relay teams to raise money for the Matthews House.

Music – Eva Holbrook and Aaron Strumpel

Desserts – a variety, homemade by Matthews House friends and volunteers (just fyi – our volunteers make amazing food!!)

Silent Auction – learn to play the piano, get a massage, acquire some new art for your home…

And all to support the Matthews House and the youth of our community.

Everyday Joe’s Coffee House, 144 S Mason St, Fort Collins

Wednesday, July 29, 7pm

$10 suggested donation

This weekend at 921 N Taft Hill Rd in Fort Collins there will be a gigantic yard sale to benefit the Matthews House. The sale will run Saturday and Sunday (July 25 & 26) from 7am to 2pm – please plan to stop by.

Thanks to all who have donated their gently used items to the cause and thanks to all who will come by to search for treasures.

On June 4th, thanks to the generosity of Mountain Whitewater Descents, we were able to take 6 youth along with 3 staff members for an exciting half-day rafting trip on the Cache la Poudre River. The water was high and fast and the rafting was excellent.

This was the first whitewater rafting experience for most if not all of the youth – and once we all got over looking silly in our wetsuits and the few butterflys that had congregated in our stomachs after seeing all the rapids on the bus-ride up the canyon – a great time was had by all. This was a great chance to see the importance of working together and to face and overcome fears.

On April 26th we were able to celebrate with 19 youth in the Matthews House program who have or will  soon be graduating from high school, GED and trade school programs!

photos by Courtney Craig

Please join us in honoring the graduates!!

Brittney is expecting to get her GED at end of May

Chris will graduate from Mountain View HS in May

Delissia will graduate from Fossil Ridge High in May

Dustin completed his GED last July

Elvira will graduate from Poudre High School at the end of May. Elvira will  attend college at Front Range Community College and transfer to CSU to study child psychology.

Isabella will be graduating from Loveland High School at the end of May. Isabella will be attending the University of Northern Colorado to study business. Isabel has been awarded a full ride to the University  and also a $8,000 scholarship to help with living expanse for the next four years.

Jaquy earned her GED in October 2008; received a special state waiver to take the GED early at the age of 16 (CO requires youth to be 17)

Jay will be obtaining her GED in the next couple of months and she will be attending CSU in the Fall or Spring to study engineering. Jay has already been awarded an $8,000 scholarship to help her with her schooling.

Kat graduated from the Poudre High School and currently enrolling to attend Front Range Community College in the Fall. Kat has also been working part-time.

Katie graduated from Ferguson High School in Loveland a year and half after she her projected graduation due to family issues. Katie is working full time right now and will be attending college in the Fall.

Kenny will receive his diploma from Loveland High

McKayla completed her GED last July

Michael graduated from the Aims Diploma Program and has entered the work force.

Nathan is getting his diploma from Thompson Valley high school

Norma Jean is expecting to earn GED by May through the Youth Link Program

Shane is expected to graduate with his GED at end of May

Shannon is expecting to earn her GED by May

Talisha graduated from Centennial HS in April

Tiffany graduated from Centennial High in April

Congratulations to all!

We’d like to thank the following people for celebrating with our youth and making the graduation party happen:

Everyday Joes/Timberline Oldtown for the use of their space and media/sound equipment

Diakonos Brotherhood for planning the event, preparing the food and providing a card and gift for each youth.

Outkast Redeemer for providing rockin’ music.

Thanks for loving our youth!