Promoting job creation, free enterprise, business connections and community prosperity are what the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is known for. But did you know we help build our community in other ways? Here are some of the recent or current activities of Chamber volunteers and staff:
- United Way donations. The Chamber staff understands how important nonprofits are to the community. One hundred percent of the staff voluntarily donates to United Way.
- Helping the homeless. The 2012-13 Leadership Fort Collins class has taken on 6 different projects. Two of them are directed at helping the homeless including a “Fight the Freeze Homeless Gear Drive” (Team ‘Maniac Monkeys’) and “Homelessness Connect Volunteer” (Team ‘Eye of the Tiger’). The latter group is raising money for the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center’s crisis relief fund to help people who need short-term financial assistance. Find out more here. (Note of explanation: The 2012-13 Leadership Fort Collins class divided up into six teams and selected creative names to distinguish themselves from each other.)
- Self-sufficiency. Another Leadership Fort Collins class project this year was “Bike Bank with Matthews House” (Team ‘Serendipity Dogs’) to provide bikes for clients of Matthews House. Also, last year the Chamber’s Red Carpet Committee helped build a home for Habitat for Humanity.
- Wildland restoration. A Leadership Fort Collins team (Team ‘High Horses’) raised money for wildland restoration in support of bringing back some of the areas burned by the 2012 wildfires. They have a Water Restoration Work Day scheduled for April 20.
- Helping cancer victims. The Leadership Fort Collins team called ‘Community Crusaders’ has an event May 2 to raise money for RamStrength, which supports local cancer survivors by providing financial assistance for basic needs, scholarships, programs and services.
- Food for people with disabilities. Another Leadership Fort Collins team (Team ‘All for One’) is raising money to grow fresh vegetables for disabled residents living in poverty. You can find out how to help by going here.
- Food Bank. The Chamber’s Red Carpet Committee and Envision Young Professionals have volunteered at the Food Bank.
- Education. The Chamber Board has teamed up with the Rotary Clubs of Fort Collins and the Innosphere to raise money for 10 area elementary schools to support STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math). Fund raising is still underway. To sponsor a school, contact me at [email protected].
Be assured that your chamber is focused on our primary job of fostering a strong local economy and business climate. In the process of doing that, however, the Chamber is a place where people who care about their community congregate and find diverse and important ways to build the community by helping others.