How Extreme Community Makeover Is Strengthening Denver Neighborhoods | Pinpoint Colorado

In this episode of Pinpoint Colorado, host Rachel Mains sits down with Angela Bomgaars, Executive Director of Extreme Community Makeover, a Denver nonprofit that is bringing people together through practical service and neighborhood transformation. From yard work and cleanup projects to painting, landscaping, and community connection, Extreme Community Makeover is helping strengthen neighborhoods across Denver one block at a time.

Rachel and Angela talk about how the nonprofit began in 2008, how volunteer days work, the impact of building relationships between neighbors, and the many ways individuals, families, churches, schools, and businesses can get involved. They also discuss the organization’s Extreme Teams, the value of serving with your unique skills, and what it takes to build a mission-driven nonprofit that lasts.

To learn more or sign up to volunteer, visit ExtremeCommunityMakeover.org. 

To watch more episodes of Pinpoint Colorado, visit PinpointColorado.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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SPEAKER_02 0:43

Welcome to Pinpoint, Colorado. I'm your host, Rachel Maines. Today we're featuring a Denver nonprofit Extreme Community Makeover that's making a meaningful impact across Denver by connecting volunteers alongside residents to do practical home improvement and community projects. This organization is making a lasting impact and connecting communities together. Coming up, I'll be joined by Executive Director Angela Bombgart. Thank you, Angela, for allowing Pimpoint, Colorado to come here and learn more about your amazing nonprofit.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Yeah, you're welcome. Well, thanks for being here, Rachel. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Well, we've known each other for years. I've been to the work days. They're just this organization. Well, first of all, I gotta say I'm gonna brag upon you. And I tell you all the time, you're so good at efficiency, you know how to plan a day. So just wanted to mention for anyone who signs up to volunteer, the day runs so smoothly. Thank you. Um, but for those who don't know about extreme community makeover, share how this got started.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Yeah, you know, it really was an idea. You know, ideas are a time a dozen. You never really know what sticks and what doesn't. But I would say pretty early on when the idea first kind of materialized, we started introducing it to volunteers. People kind of came, kept volunteering, kept volunteering. And really after the first year, we had really had almost 2,000 volunteers with pretty limited like marketing of it. And it kind of was clear like, hey, I think this is something people are excited about participating in. Let's really take it and run with it. And I said, Well, I'll sign up to do that, and here we are all these years later. And when did it get started?

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Uh, we started in 2008. Wow, that's a long time to be a nonprofit. It is. And it's quite unique. So, Extreme Community Makeover, you guys go into communities and you make over the community, but explain the type of tasks that you have.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Yeah, exactly. So, really, what we're focusing on is really bringing volunteers together with residents of specific neighborhoods here in Denver that we're working in, with the goal of really saying, how can we provide some extra people, extra hands, and let's work together, be good neighbors, and really complete outside home or neighborhood improvement projects. So a lot of the projects we do are yard work, cleanup projects, painting, landscaping, fence repair, trimming bushes, kind of anything outside that doesn't require a permit or professional expertise. And really that are projects that volunteers can do because they might be doing those types of projects at their own homes anyway.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

Right. And what I like about this too, the volunteers of every age really. I've seen families and kids and you know, singles of every age, because there's always something for somebody to do.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Absolutely. And so every time we have a volunteer day, it's open to anyone to participate. So there's um a lot of individuals that come. We get a lot of groups, whether that be churches, companies, schools, organizations, and the group sizes are really flexible too. Like we've had groups of five people to 50 people to 500 people. And so obviously there's more logistics, the bigger the group sizes get. But what's nice about it is that we really can make it work because we're really covering more ground, the more volunteers we have. So we really focus on two projects. One is the Alley Cleanup graffiti removal project. So really kind of community cleanup, picking up trash, pulling weeds, painting over graffiti. Whereas the other adopt a block project is where we'll go into the neighborhood a couple weeks ahead of time, knock on people's doors, start conversations with them to say, hey, we'll be in your neighborhood on these on this particular day. Are you interested in having some volunteers to work with you? And so again, like, you know, the more volunteers we have, the more blocks we could adopt or the more alleys we could clean and just kind of keep scaling it that way.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

Yeah. So you're transforming a neighborhood in multiple ways. First, just aesthetically, um, then transforming hearts. Because I can't imagine, you know, getting a knock on my door and be like, hey, I want to help you with your outside projects, like, wow. You know. And then two, you know, I've been to many of the work days. Uh-huh. Just seeing how the volunteers connect with the neighbors, how the neighbors connect with other neighbors. Sometimes neighbors, you know, nowadays we don't really know each other as well as back in the day. So you're getting people out, the neighborhood. So, do you have a story or two about neighbors connecting and how that really does change a neighborhood?

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Yeah, the one that makes me laugh this was however many years ago. But we had two neighbors who were who lived next door to each other, and we ended up doing a project with both of the neighbors. And so somehow or other it became it came out during the beginning of the day that these two neighbors maybe didn't really get along very well, that they didn't like each other. And I think it was something silly as to what the you know issue was that like one of them didn't like how the other took out the trash, or you know, something minor like that. Well, the day goes on, you know, like we start the projects in the morning. Well, at lunchtime, we always break for lunch, but we invite the folks that we're working with to come join us for lunch. Both of these families ended up coming to lunch. Well, it gets towards the end of lunch, like everyone's gone back out to their project sites, but there's this one table just laughing and laughing. Well, it turns out it's those two neighbors. So it's like this experience got them to sit down at the same table and start talking to each other, and they realized, like, okay, clearly we maybe have more in common than what we initially thought, but it required them like sitting down and talking to each other as opposed to like disliking about the other how they took out the trash. Right. You know, so to me, that's what I think is really neat about those volunteer days is exactly what you said. It's connecting people that really maybe wouldn't otherwise have a chance to connect on a variety of levels. You know, whether it's a company that is volunteering with their coworkers outside of the office, or, you know, maybe some people are remote, some are in the office in their cubicles, or, you know, a school sports team, like, hey, you're getting to know your teammates in a different way. Or, you know, maybe it's folks who've just moved to Denver and are like, I just really want to meet people and really like-minded people who like to give back to the community. But I also think it's really a great way to connect with neighbors that you wouldn't otherwise meet. And also that's really the reason why we go block by block is hopefully it gets people out of their houses, getting people talking to each other, and really saying, like, how does that build strong build stronger communities when people first off start talking to each other and then continuing those conversations and really saying, like, well, then how does that grow into like looking out for each other and really saying that's what builds stronger communities when you care about your neighbors, look out for each other, help each other, and have a stronger neighborhood than that you live in.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

Right. And once again, that's on multiple levels through knowing your neighbors, but also taking pride in your house because you have a beautiful fence that people helped you paint. Right. You know, because if you needed some trash removal, now your yard is looking more aesthetically beautiful, you know. So there's a lot of different levels here. And then also just offering um something fun that you can go volunteer at, you know, and and you're using your hands, and that's it just a fun activity. I want to mention the extreme teams because yes, you can volunteer just you know, typical volunteer, but share about the extreme teams.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Yeah, to me and the extreme teams are really one of the best ways to get involved, I think, because there's 10 different teams, and these are really the key volunteers who I would say help the workdays that we that we have available really run smoothly. Because in those 10 different teams, there's a whole range of things. Like there's the communications team who they are putting Instagram stories together and telling more about the why we do what we do. There's folks who are translating by between English and Spanish. There's others who are driving the truck and picking up trash, and other teams who are getting lunch ready, and other teams who are giving resource packets to the residents, and a whole like range of different um aspects of what all of those 10 extreme teams do. And I would really say like anyone's skill sets or interests kind of fit into one of those teams. Some of them are pretty um clear as to what they are, some of them are a little more like broad in range of what they do. But I feel like it's really a great way to like get to know the the work that Extreme Community Makeover is doing more consistently. But you also have a team that you're a part of and you really connect with others who like let's just use the video team as an example. Like they're all folks who enjoy putting videos together and they all have that in common. But they also have in common that they're using their skills to give back through Extreme Community Makeover and really tell the stories about what happens when we do projects like this and how that is impactful to people, you know, both on a volunteer standpoint and from the community standpoint. And so I think yeah, the Extreme Teams are a great way to really get plugged in, um, really use skills that you have and really be able to say, like, hey, I really can recognize that the time that I'm investing in my volunteer time is really making a difference through Extreme Community Makeover.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

Right. Making a difference, and they're getting to know other people and making friends, you know. So yeah, that's it's a fun thing. Now, this was born and raised in Colorado, but do you have aspirations to take it to other states?

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Yeah, I would love to see that happen sometime um down the road. I feel like I've had um numerous inquiries over the years of people who've been interested or either heard about what we're doing, or maybe it was someone who volunteered with us here in Denver, but then they moved elsewhere and then reached out like, hey, I really remember enjoying that experience. Like, is there something in whatever city they had moved to? And so I feel like the the way in which we bring people together is really necessary and really important, especially because a lot of times we don't know our neighbors. We go in and out of our houses and we don't take the time to do that. And I think like the message of what we're trying to encourage, which is getting to know your neighbors, investing in your community, and yeah, being good neighbors is so important that I think, yeah, it would be great to bring it to other places, other cities, other, you know, other neighborhoods, that sort of thing. So I think it just kind of requires like having us having a good foundation here in Denver to continue doing the work that we're doing, but also be able to expand beyond that to say, like, okay, we we can continue doing what we're doing here and continue building and growing that while also saying, like, okay, let's be open to seeing what other places arise that might be a good fit for it.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

Yeah. That's great. Well, I know you know many people kind of dream about starting a nonprofit. There's so many great ideas out there. Like you say, you have an idea. Um, but what what's a couple tips you can give um our listeners, our viewers, if they have in mind a nonprofit?

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Yeah, it's a good um good question. I would say um be prepared to be go into it with both eyes open because it's it's a lot more than you initially bargain for. Like you, I mean, everyone who gets involved in nonprofit work, it's because you care about the mission and the cause of what you're doing. There's also a lot of work to it. And, you know, a lot of things that are tied to the mission, but also a lot of things that like maybe don't seem tied to the mission, but you know, like doing the tax return. Like that's you know, it's still part of the reality of like even nonprofits have to, you know, put tax returns together. So, you know, just I would say do your research to know, like, is the idea that someone has, is it something that maybe someone else is already doing and there's opportunities to part partner with them? And if not, and there really is a desire to, yes, I want to become a 501c3 and move in that direction, just being clear about what your mission is, but also being clear to have done your research, to know, like, okay, you've kind of thought through all of the other pieces that go into it, which is really, you know, building your program model out, but also like the fundraising part of it is a big part of you have to have resources to actually like support what you're doing and and knowing that's that's part of the drill, you know, as well. And also how do you really build community support for what you're doing? And yeah, I think I think sometimes it could be testing the waters of first before having to jump into the deep end to see like, is that the only, is that the only way to do what you have in mind? And if it is, great, then it maybe makes sense too. But you know, just maybe be open to exploring maybe there's other ways of doing what you want to do as well that may not be as cumbersome sometimes on the back end of like, yeah, there are lots of you know, I's to dot and T's to cross that you have to do when you're when you are a 501c3. Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Lots of hard work go into nonprofits for sure. And you have been doing it excellently, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Um, so for those who are listening who are viewing, they want to volunteer. How did they get started?

SPEAKER_01 13:42

We'd love to have anyone come volunteer with us. So probably the best place to start is go to our website, so extreme community makeover.org. There's a section about volunteers on there, and there's a whole section about events. So you could kind of go to either section, and if you go to the events page, it'll show here's all the different dates that we host. Our goal is really having a lot of volunteer opportunities scheduled throughout the year, so it really is easy for people to jump in. It's not like we only do things one or two times a year. There's a lot of dates. Um, there should be something, you know, that can kind of fit everyone's schedule. Um, they're also like if you're on that volunteer page, it'll tell you a few more details about okay, what to expect if you do volunteer, what does that look like, but also how to register. So we usually have people register as a group if they're expecting five or more people, or register as an individual if, you know, maybe it's a family who wants to come volunteer. And yeah, really the main thing then is getting registered through a platform we use called Volunteer Hub. And then that's how we know when people are planning to show up, and then we can keep everyone posted with all the details specific to that particular day that they're planning to volunteer from there.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah, once again, I'll say um volunteering for you is really easy breezy because you're so well organized. So listeners and viewers definitely go to the website and get um signed up, and I just know you're gonna enjoy your day and give back and then create camaraderie within the family or the organization. Or if you're an individual, you'll meet other people. Exactly. So it's just really fun.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Yeah. And to me, that's what's fun about each day, too, of just seeing how like there's different, you know, different individuals, different groups, different neighborhoods, different projects that like, you know, like we can have the foundation be similar for each day, but really each day is so different based on those kind of connections that come up in the day and relationships that are formed throughout that day. Right. Well, thank you so much, Angela, for being on the appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

My thanks to Angela Baumgars, the Executive Director of Extreme Community Makeover, for joining us today. And thank you so much for the incredible work you're doing in Denver neighborhoods. You can learn more and sign up to volunteer by going to Extreme Community Makeover.org. You can also stop by Pinpoint Colorado to watch past episodes. Go to pinpointcolorado.com. Thanks for joining us and see you next time.