500 Volunteer Hours Power Northern Colorado Giving

Northern Colorado mothers and sons dedicate nearly 500 service hours to food assistance and Adopt-A-Family preparations

By North Forty News Staff | NorthFortyNews.com

LOVELAND, Colo. — Mothers and their high school-aged sons from the Young Men’s Service League of Northern Colorado are contributing nearly 500 volunteer hours to help SERVE 6.8 prepare for its busy holiday giving season.

The work is part of YMSL NoCo’s Ultimate Gift, the organization’s annual signature service project. This year’s effort focuses on food and housing insecurity and includes approximately 150 volunteers working with SERVE 6.8 and its network of Northern Colorado Resource Centers.

The week of service culminates Saturday, Sept. 26, when more than 80 YMSL members are expected to work at the SERVE 6.8 warehouse in Loveland. Volunteers will build the organization’s Adopt-A-Family Toy Room and complete other projects ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas assistance season.

Activities began Sept. 19 with a food collection and a moving project. YMSL members are also volunteering during the week at the SERVE 6.8 warehouse, including sorting and counting donated food.

“Working with this amazing community partner in SERVE 6.8 is an extraordinary opportunity for our chapter to make a big impact in our community,” said Tricia Schuster, YMSL NoCo Ultimate Gift Chair. “It also provides a meaningful experience for our Young Men to learn more about food insecurity and those impacted.”

Stephanie Russell, SERVE 6.8 Connections Director, said the additional volunteer support will help the organization prepare to serve Northern Colorado families this fall.

“We are just so excited to have YMSL here this fall,” Russell said. “That they want to spend their service hours alongside us making sure we are able to be successful here and serve families in Northern Colorado — we appreciate their willingness to jump into all these different projects.”

YMSL NoCo was founded in 2019 and has 218 mothers and sons participating in the organization. The chapter works with 24 local philanthropic organizations and reports contributing more than 5,000 volunteer hours annually.

Last year’s Ultimate Gift project partnered with A Little Help, with volunteers performing yard work for older adults who needed assistance.

Young Men’s Service League is a national nonprofit that pairs mothers and their high school-aged sons in community service, leadership development and life-skills programs. The organization reports more than 40,000 participating mothers and sons across more than 225 chapters in 24 states.

SERVE 6.8 works with local churches and community partners to assist families through Resource Centers, disaster relief, project assistance and its Adopt-A-Family program, which provides Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts.

Learn more about YMSL NoCo, Young Men’s Service League and SERVE 6.8.

Attribution: Information and photos provided by Young Men’s Service League of Northern Colorado.