Colorado’s first Rotary Epic Day of Service

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On Saturday, May 18, hundreds of Rotarians and community members volunteered to serve and support more than fifty-four nonprofit organizations across Colorado for one epic day.

More than fifty people rolled up their sleeves and volunteered at South ReStore a cornerstone for the community that provides affordable housing solutions.

“The difference it makes in a family for them to have permanent stability, it creates hope and it does amazing things. It’s a place where kids grow up safe, it gives parents the belief that they’ve done everything that could be done,” said Dusty Last the Volunteer Coordinator for Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity.

Volunteers with Pike’s Peak Habitat for Humanity spent the day at South ReStore organizing tiles, doors, and other furniture. The home improvement store serves as a donation and recycling center.

“We give people who can’t meet their regular mortgage protocols the opportunity to be homeowners and create safe homes for their family,” said Last.

Proceeds from customer purchases and revenue allow Pikes Peak Habitat to partner with families to build, rehabilitate, and repair homes locally and around the world.

“We just wanted to be able to help them. I know they get lots of donations and there’s lots of things that have to be sifted through and organized. So, we’re just here to give the hands-on labor to make sure that happens,” says Samantha Chapman the President of the Colorado Springs Rotary Club.

The project is part of a statewide initiative with an estimated seven hundred volunteers to serve more than 54 nonprofit organizations across Colorado, and the organization’s goal is to get twenty-five thousand volunteers to participate.

“There’s 1.4 million members who are Rotarians, and it’s all about service, over self. So, that’s our motto is service above self, and it’s about being able to give back to our communities as well as internationally,” said Chapman.

Saturday was Colorado’s first epic day of service which was started in 2020 by rotary clubs in the northeast on May 18th now the day is celebrated across ten states and three countries.

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