A Time For Gratitude
Our Neighborhood Rocks. Here Are A Few Reasons Why.
By Amelia Eckles
Admin. Asst., GPHC
November at GPHC means Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving! We are so grateful for the generosity of the community during this time. If you’d like to be involved, there are many ways to do so. Check out Sierra Fleenor’s article on page 16 for the nitty gritty details of how we pull off our annual Thanksgiving Giveaway and how you can be involved.
Whether you are experiencing abundance or going through a time of need, the Thanksgiving Giveaway is a time of gratitude for everyone in the neighborhood. We need volunteers and donations of both food and financial contributions, and we will be updating the details weekly on our website at greaterparkhill.org/programs/thanksgiving/.
In other news, there are still a few days le to join our Alley Clean-up Pledge, if you haven’t yet done so. We invite you to join us in clearing weeds, trash, and other debris from the alleyways throughout Greater Park Hill, and plant flower or herb seeds in their place. All the details can be found at greaterparkhill.org/sustainability/.
The school year is in full swing, as is our Weekend Food Program. Students who receive free and reduced lunch at Park Hill, Roots, and Smith elementary schools needn’t worry about where their food will come from over the weekend as the Weekend Food Program provides them with breakfast, snacks, and lunch. From those who donate nonperishable items, to the volunteers who pack and sort bags, to the parents who pick up and deliver the bags – thank you all!
Did you know that Greater Park Hill is technically a food desert? A food desert is defined as an area in which residents live one mile or more from a full-service grocery store. This is an issue if you are without access to a car or with limited mobility, making it that much more difficult to find healthy, affordable food. Our Food Pantry helps to fill in the gap, and we rely on our volunteers to make it all happen. Thanks to each of you for showing up week after week to keep our pantry in order, and for meeting those in need with dignity and respect.
We’d also like to acknowledge and thank the 111 volunteers who made the Home Tour & Street Fair a fun and successful event at the end of September. This annual fundraiser is the Registered Neighborhood Organization’s largest, and helps raise funds that support all of the programs and events GPHC offers. To the event chairs – who collectively gave nearly 300 hours – to the planning committee members, to the volunteers who contributed time and talent the day of the event, we are deeply grateful.
The sentiment also goes out to our members. Your engagement with the community is a large part of what makes Greater Park Hill such a special place to live. I had the pleasure of seeing our members in action at the October annual meeting. Thank you to all who attended, a special thanks to Jim Kroll and Raj Pandya for presenting, and congratulations to Blair Taylor for becoming the newest recipient of the Babbs Award. If you’re not yet a member or need to renew your membership, you can do so online or with the form on page 17.
The free farm stand season has come to a close. Thank you to all who participated this year. We were able to distribute over 2,000 pounds of produce that might have otherwise been sent to the landfill.
Our Food Pantry, of course, operates year ‘round. This month we are most in need of canned fruit, canned meats (including tuna, salmon, chicken, Vienna sausage, and Spam), canned ravioli, hearty soups, chili, baked beans, tomato products (tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa, etc.), olives (green and black), rice, ramen, condiments, salt, flour sugar, cooking oil and tea. We also need toilet paper, plastic sandwich bags, hygiene products (lotion, shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving cream, razors, toothpaste, and toothbrushes), cleaning products, laundry soap, as well as plastic, paper, and reusable shopping bags.
Our Weekend Food Program would benefit from donations of the following items: individually packaged snack foods like granola bars (without nuts, preferably), fruit snacks, cookies, crackers, and cheese crackers.
Your financial support is greatly appreciated, and helps keep our volunteer-driven organization afloat. For more information, visit our website at greaterparkhill.org or call us at 303-388-0918.
Looking to drop off a donation for our food pantry? Bring them to our office at 2823 Fairfax St. during office hours, Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If those times don’t align with your schedule, you might have better luck with Cake Crumbs or the Park Hill Branch Library. Both accept donations during their business hours.
If you’d like to get involved, reach out! We’d love to hear from you. Call us, email, or just stop by and say hi!
Amelia Eckles is GPHC’s administrative assistant. She is passionate about sustainability and equity.
Volunteers
Janey Alpert
Jason Barth
Barbara Cavender
Jack Farrar
Claudia Fields
Harold Fields
Tas Frashure
Noni Horwitz
Erika Hutyra
Megan Jamison
Rod Leman
Debra Lovell
Chuck Nelson
Mia Peterson
Peggy Roberts
Mary Salsich
Tammi Scroggins
Heather Shulman
Shane Sutherland
Sue Weinstein
Donors
Janey Alpert
M Barreto
John Chin
Jenna Hirsch
Brian Jackson
Anne McLaughlin
Harriet Mullaney
Sherman Roberts
CJ Roberts
Becky Rold
George Washington
Josh Weiner
AARP #995 – Queen City of the Rockies
Blessed Sacrament
Brandon J Scott Photography
Cake Crumbs and Patrons
Cure D’ Ars
Denver Food Rescue
Food Bank of the Rockies
Messiah Community Church
Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church
Park Hill Congregational
Park Hill Elementary School
Park Hill Library and Patrons
Park Hill United Methodist
St Thomas Community Garden
St Thomas Episcopal Church
The Counterpath Community Garden
Members
Tara Bannon
Maria Barreto
Dennis Blum
Lynn Blum
Cynthia Boune
Matthew Bradford
Colette Carey
Anthony Caruso
Christine Caruso
John Chin
Eve Cohen
Heather Colliander
Greg Davis
Melissa Davis
Cara DeGette
Jean Ercolani
Sean Garvey
David Gehlert
Geneva Goldsby
Luther Goldsby
Jesse Granger
James Groves
Mary Groves
Philip Hainline
Dash Harrison
Ryan Hunter
Lynn Kalinauskus
Bernadette Kelly
Megan McQuinn
Pamela Morton
LaMone Noles
Sally Ortiz
Tammie Phillips
Keith Porter
Bryan Saunders
Blair Taylor
Everett Volk
Jane Wainwright
Leslie Williams
Trevor Williams
Home Tour & Street Fair Volunteers
Roger Adams
Dave Aeling
Amy Anderson
Amelia Arku
Jaime Arruda
Mike Barden
Susan Barden
Douglas Blankenship
Gwen Blumenschein
Fletcher Brown
Roz Cantrell
Tim Carrier
Chris Chase
Pam Connolly
Lana Cordes
Colleen Costello
Kristin Coulter
Veronica D’Annibale
Susan Davenport
Brett Davis
Melissa Davis
Sasha Davis
Nicole Delmoro
George Dennis
Sara Donnelly
Ramona Estrada
Andrew Forde
Regina Friend
Bev Garrick
Mary Gerwin
Hope Glennon
Karen Goldrick
Mic Gumb
Kate Hakala
Duncan Halstead
Lisa Halstead
Kaitlin Harvey
Kelly Hastman
Nilmini Hecox
Patricia Heiferling
Nam Henderson
Cheryl Hennesey
Keri Hess
Karl Hicks
Howard Hilliard
John Hite
Jamie Ho
Renee Hopkins
Jessica Howard
Kelly Hudson
Bette Jamieson
Jean Johnson
Meg Johnson
Allie Kelly
Bernadette Kelly
Eleanor Kennicott
Kim Kennicott
Roger Kilgore
Lara Kleinhelter
Nina Kuhl
Karla Kyte
Steve LaPorta
Nora Lasky
Armand Lebovits
Kathy Leedom
Roberta Locke
Ben Lusz
Tracey MacDermott
Jane McClaughlin
Kelly McDonald
Brian Mcgraw
Fred Merten
Karen Merten
Susan Merten
Jennifer Milligan
Wendy Miner
Barbara Moe
Paul Moe
June Monson
Jill Moreno
Pamela Morton
Gytis Pankevicius
Justin Petaccio
Hannah Platt
Dan Powell
Paul Redstone
Wynn Reynolds
Ashley Rice
Rebecca Rogers
Willie Rollins
Veronica Roybol
Liz Rutledge
Mary Salsich
Tracy Shaffer
Jacqui Shumway
Lynn Smith
Jane Stanfield
Marilyn Stewart
Kim Tighe
Madalyn Tighe
Ann Torgerson
Sherree Totten
Dirk Turner
Shaylisa Turner
Andres Washington
Mary Welch
Nikki Wiederaenders
Bre Winters
Polly Wirtz