Our volunteers are the heart of the DUG community
This year’s celebration rebranded the traditional annual Harvest Happy Hour in an effort to celebrate our community’s families. Together, alongside 100+ DUG volunteers, we took full advantage of the cool fall weather by enjoying lawn games (like corn hole and giant Jenga™), delicious fresh-pressed apple cider, pumpkin (and bee hotel) painting, and more.
We were thrilled to welcome local food trucks Farm to Truck Colorado and Xatrucho, who offered delicious bites including a pulled pork sandwich and Honduran pastelitos! Additionally, our very own DUG Corps Member, Max, shared homemade apple cider donuts (and no, they did not last long!). Of course, we can’t forget the memorable Community Composter worm cake (see ‘Photo Gallery’ below) to celebrate our dirt-loving cohort.
To end the event, our various programs spotlighted key volunteers who went above and beyond this past year. Join us in celebrating:
Volunteers
- Alexandra Labrie
- Carly Bennett
- Travone Gray
Food Access
- Aidan Borkan
Garden Leaders
- Sabin School – Troy Madrid
- Mountain View – Sarah Heit
- Golden – Kelly Shen
- Montbello “Five Loaves” – Denise Wanzo
Tree Keepers
- Doull Elementary – Dean Tebbe & Jennifer Dillon
- Cook Park – Amber Ivanova & Kristen Pushor
- Morey Middle School – Ethan Roberts, Brittney Vancuran, & Jody Beck
Community Composters
- Most Enthusiastic – Brian Nelson
- SOS Outreach Extraordinaire – Lisken Hays
- Worm Nannies – Melia Polynice & Vic Woods
Of course, ALL of our 1,500+ volunteers deserve recognition. Together, their impact amounted to:
- 1 new garden completion + 1 garden rebuild
- 4 new food forests
- 2,000 Grow a Garden kits distributed
- 400+ volunteer shifts
- 130 community members taught about composting
- 6,000+ hours given
- … and so much more
