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.jpg) Two influences have inspired Sandy Lawson to devote her life to volunteerism and
community service. The first is her mother, whose volunteer work motivated Sandy
to follow her mother’s example; the second is travel.
Traversing the
globe from South America to Africa, Sandy had witnessed acute poverty first
hand. At a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she experienced one of her most
vivid encounters with homelessness. While at the restaurant, she was approached
by a barefoot girl, about four or five years old, peddling a box of gum. Sandy
recalls the girl’s pleading eyes, and how it appeared that the girl savored each
mouthful of Sandy’s fruit pâté. Sandy also recalls the restaurant owner, who
tried angrily to turn the girl away. The encounter left Sandy overwhelmed with a
sense and helplessness. Then she realized she could make a difference – by
helping children close to home.
For many
years, Sandy has tirelessly volunteered to support children and families in her
own community. In addition to working full-time and raising a family, she is a
lifetime member of the Optimists, a national volunteer organization. She also
helped found Boulder Family Hospice. In the last few years, Sandy has added
another cause. She volunteers to raise donations for Casa de la Esperanza,
Boulder County’s farm worker housing site in south Longmont.
Casa de la
Esperanza (Casa) is an affordable housing community for migrant and seasonal
agricultural workers. Casa’s Resident Program provides affordable shelter to 32
families living on-site and impacts dozens others in the greater Longmont
community. Through the after-school and summer programs, Casa strives to provide
a safe, stable environment for the 80+ children in this community, allowing them
access to opportunities and services they might not otherwise get.
Sandy’s work
with Casa grew out of a desire to inspire enthusiasm and community involvement
among her coworkers. She started an annual holiday gift drive at work,
recruiting her colleagues to “adopt” a Casa child. Each child was assigned to
an employee, who then provided the child with a holiday gift. This year, Sandy
also organized a drive to provide the Casa kids with school supplies. In
addition to raising money, Sandy’s employer, Thule Organizational Solutions,
donated brand new backpacks to every Casa child.
Sandy’s
passion for helping children continues to be a lifelong pursuit. “Travel, for
me, brought home how fortunate – how very, very fortunate – we are,” Sandy
reflects. “I really can’t imagine not doing something [to help].”
For
information about Casa de la Esperanza volunteer opportunities, government volunteer opportunities,
please contact: Carlota Loya Hernandez, (303) 678-6220,
cloya@bouldercounty.org |
E very
month, Debi Nichols dedicates time to help complete strangers cope with tragedy.
Debi is a volunteer victim advocate for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office
Victim Assistance program, which provides crisis response to victims of violent
crime, trauma, and sudden death.
“An
advocate is there to bridge the gap between what a victim’s life once was, to
what it will become,” Debi says, describing her volunteer work. “Listening is an
advocate’s most important job.”
Debi
was inspired to give back to her community after hospice volunteers helped her
cope with a loved one’s death. She attended clown school and began volunteering
for the Make-A-Wish foundation, entertaining hospitalized children. Later, she
volunteered as an EMT and eventually worked as a police dispatcher. When she
heard of the County’s Victim Assistance program, she decided to learn more.
Now,
Debi volunteers to be on-call for victim assistance during a specified shift for
one week per month. When called, Debi travels to the victim’s location and makes
herself available for as long as the victim or family may need her. She is
accompanied by a partner advocate, but when multiple tragedies strike she may
perform her advocate duties alone. Some of those duties include informing
families of a loved one’s death, connecting victims to organizations that offer
financial or legal assistance, or offering emotional support to victims and
their families.
In
addition to her past work and volunteer experience, Debi draws on the skills and
knowledge provided by her victim advocacy training – four weeks of academic,
psychological, and emotional preparation that volunteers must complete before
participating in the Victim Assistance program.
Despite
the physical and emotional stresses that accompany victim advocacy, Debi
continues to volunteer because she is able to gain positive insight from even
the worst situations. And even when she isn’t quite sure how to help, she
remarks cheerfully, “I can always make coffee!”
For
information on becoming a volunteer Victim Advocate, contact Donna Foster at
303-441-3656 or dfoster@bouldercounty.org.
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