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A question of priority - Volunteering |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Thursday, 18 January 2007 |
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Page 1 of 5
 Life can be exhausting. Go to work, hit the gym, make dinner, do laundry... yada, yada, yada. People have the best intentions, but after a full day of work going home, eating dinner and plopping on the coach can be enticing. The thought of throwing one more thing into the balancing act can make a person dizzy.
“To me, it seems question of priorities,” said Brooks Letchworth. “It’s a matter of challenging yourself. There is great value in pushing yourself beyond your limits. The inner source of power is something people don’t utilize enough.”
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Photo courtesy of Brooks Letchworth, Educo | for NEXTnc
Brooks Letchworth walks at the Great Sand Dunes National Park with a group of junior high students as part of the Educo program. Letchworth is motivated to volunteer with the Fort Collins outdoor program because of his love of kids and his desire to help show them a world outside of the city.
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BROOKS' STORY
Brooks Letchworth didn’t know his grandmother very well. After all, he only saw her twice a year growing up. It wasn’t until later that he realized how much of his “inner source of power” he gained from her.
“She was involved in Greenpeace,” he said. “She was an amazing artist.”
At family gatherings in North Carolina, it was generally assumed Letchworth would watch all his younger cousins.
“At the time, I was a kid too,” said the now 25-year-old. “I had a passion for it.”
Letchworth went to college at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he graduated with a degree in anthropology. It wasn’t until his last semester that he discovered what he was destined to do.
“I found a class on outdoor leadership,” he said.
After graduation, Letchworth worked at an environmental center in Georgia for four months.
“It put me on track of being involved with kids and being a mentor,” he said.
Two years ago, he moved to Colorado in search of youth-oriented jobs involving the environment. Months later, he found what he was searching for when he started volunteering with Educo.
Educo offers outdoor programs for youth with the purpose of cultivating leadership, passion and purpose. The program originated in Canada in 1969 and came to Colorado in 1988. Divisions can also be found in South Africa, Bulgaria, Brazil and Germany.
The program in Fort Collins is the only one in the United States.
“We primarily work with local youth, but we do get some from all over the Front Range and some out of state,” said Allison Sacks-Smith, volunteer coordinator.
One-day programs to 15-day programs are offered for kids ages 9 to 18.
“A snapshot of a program would involve team-building activities in an environment where kids can feel a sense of acceptance that maybe they haven’t experienced before,” Sacks-Smith said.
Educo offers open enrollment programs for all kids. One-day courses cost between $20 to $63 per day and multiple-day overnight expeditions range between $85 and $150, depending on the activities and length of time. In addition, the organization also works with the at-risk youth programs Star and Urban Peak.
Letchworth’s first expedition with Educo was a five-day course at the Great Sand Dunes National Park with a group of junior high students.
“It was geared toward getting the kids away from city life and into a different mode of existence,” he said. “With young kids like that, you don’t really know if you are having an effect on them.”
At the end of the trip, the kids were asked to share something they would never forget and would take home with them.
“They really surprised us,” Letchworth said. “We heard these kids say the most intelligent and profound things, mainly things about how they conquered their fears.”
He said sometimes it’s challenging because not all the kids want to be there. Still, he has a passion for children and fell in love with Educo. He works at Mugs year-round and spends the warmer months balancing three jobs. He works at the Colorado State University ropes course. Though his summer position with Educo is paid, the rest of his time is volunteered.
“Everyone at Educo is so welcoming and genuine, it’s hard not to give whenever I could, in the office or whatever,” he said. “My main motivation is that I know that a small organization with very little full-time workers needs all the help it can get.”
Letchworth now sees just how much he has in common with his grandmother.
Through his own experiences, he has come to understand her better than he ever imagined.
“A lot of my family didn’t take a stance for environmental advocacy or choose a career path in an attempt to effect change like she did,” Letchworth said.
In a way, Letchworth believes he is following in his grandmother’s footsteps. He believes he can cause change by impacting one kid at a time.
“I feel like there is some kind of current that drives people,” Letchworth said. “It’s not by chance that I ended up here. It’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”
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HELP OUT
Looking for a place to volunteer? Each week NEXTnc will highlight two organizations or volunteer opportunities that need help in Larimer and Weld counties.
Larimer County
Organization: Larimer County Parks and Open Lands
What it does: Preserves and protects open space, natural areas, wildlife habitat, and develops parks and trails.
What’s needED: new volunteer orientation
When: Jan. 20 at Carter Lake and Feb. 10 in Fort Collins
Contact: Dutch Fla Havhan at 679.4552 or
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
to sign up
Weld County
- Organization: University Schools
- What it does: University is a charter school in Greeley School District 6
- What’s needed: Lunch room monitors
- When: 30-minute shifts from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday, ongoing
- Contact: www.universityschools.com
For more opportunities and information on getting involved, contact United Way 2-1-1 by dialing 211, or go to www.uwaylc.org or www.unitedway-weld.org.
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