Class of 2007 Civic Projects

Listed below are brief descriptions of the civic projects taken on by the class of 2007. 

1) “What can I do now?” Campaign – Goal: to provide community members quick education on simple things they can do immediately to reduce their carbon footprint.  Their campaign included: creating brochures and a website, attending events (Earth Day at ACES and Belly Up, Dandelion Days), and creating a PR campaign that involved radio interviews, newspaper ads, and a banner over main street.  They acquired corporate sponsors, one of which landed them 150 CFL light bulbs, that they disbursed at events along with stickers and brochures advertising their logo and website.  This team is now interested in passing this project onto a team in the next RFL class, to keep it moving forward.

2)     “A History Runs Through It” event was put on to fundraise and recognize the efforts of the local organizations that work towards preserving our history throughout the valley.  It was a concert held at the Wheeler Opera House featuring ‘The Kimi Hayes Band.’  They generated a profit of $2,500 that was disbursed to the organizations.  Their intent is to have this become an annual event.  

3) Another team wanted to do something to benefit kids.  So they joined up with a new non-profit organization called Kid WoRxs to develop a fundraising plan to help build sustainability.  Kid WoRxs is an 8-week program designed to give twenty-five to fifty children & their families at Crystal River Elementary School an opportunity to explore their personal best in fitness and nutrition. It includes eight weekly 90-minute nutrition lessons, followed by a three-hour hike on local trails. Each student that is involved in the program will receive a new pair of tennis shoes, a daypack, a T-shirt with our program logo and weekly healthy snacks that go along with a nutritional focus that week.  At the end of the project, they had developed a comprehensive ‘pitch packet’ including a brochure, statistics on childhood development, and other necessities for potential funders to invest in the organization.  Several of the team members are staying involved as volunteers with this non-profit.

4)      Roaring Fork Volunteers was initiated as a service learning class project at Aspen Elementary School in 2003.  The intent was to provide a free matching service for local volunteers and non-profits.  The project was difficult to perpetuate, by either the class, or a steering committee that was later formed.  The client contacted RFL seeking a sustainable, professional, easy to use website to meet the community’s needs.  The RFL team identified and established a link with a well-known organization that could both benefit from the website and maintain it – The Aspen Times.  The Aspen Times website will include a Flash Ad link to the Roaring Fork Volunteers website.  Hits, and registration by non-profits and volunteers, can be tracked.  Volunteers and non-profits can use advanced search options to connect with each other based on age, location, interests, and dates of availability.  (This is still a work in progress)