Our Journey

Please tell us about yourself? 

I migrated to this country 20 years ago as a student.This country has let me be myself, and provided ample opportunities for me to explore and grow. My family has rooted ourselves in South Denver for the last 8 years and have been enjoying this wonderful community.

What inspired you to become involved with Unite2Uplift?

I was always inspired by Mother Teresa’s service to the most vulnerable and it instilled a strong believe that serving the society was truly the best way to serve its creator thy Lord. I work for a construction company for the last 18 years and we always make sure that with every project we take up, we do something for the local community using our skills like repairing a school, park etc. 

I’ve been involved with Unite2Uplift since it’s inception and we focus on using both our skills and community outreach, to directly support local school communities. This platform gives me an opportunity to give back in a meaningful way. 

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment from your work with us?

I volunteer( school lead) with Virginia Court elementary on behalf of Unite2Uplift. Last year, their family liaison identified few kids from financially challenged families, for the holiday gifts program, along with their wish list. As a team, we not only involved the local

community but also encouraged our kids to pick and wrap the gifts and make Christmas cards for each recipient. 

I had the opportunity to deliver these gifts to the schools and later the social workers shared how thrilled those kids were as they did not expect to get anything for Christmas. This was such an humbling experience for all Involved to share some of our blessings with other kids and make them smile!

What advice would you give to someone planning to volunteer?

I feel that most of us recognize how blessed we are and we do try to give back to the society through things we believe in. Focus on what you believe in and find opportunities to give back, you will be blessed abundantly.

Please tell us about yourself?

I live in Littleton with my fiancé Ashley, who is a teacher in Denver Public Schools. I work at Modis, a staffing firm that is grounded in upskilling the current workforce and putting people to work. We enjoy to cook, hike, camp, and ski-everything Colorado is known for. 

What inspired you to get involved in the community work?

The company I work for has a corporate pillar about Community and Responsibility. While we participate in one volunteer day per year, I felt like this was not enough so I decided to look into other ways to give back to my community outside of my corporate responsibility

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment from your work with a charity organization?

My most memorable moment of volunteering with Unite2Uplift was last year when I helped out with the professional development class at Eagle Academy. I helped the students with resume building and interview skills. I remember being their age and interviewing for some jobs and being so nervous and not knowing how to answer the questions properly, so it brings me joy to be able to build these skills with these students as I was once in their position. The job I landed in high school started me down the path I am today, in a roundabout way, and I think it’s important to start your career as early as possible to learn soft skills that you can use for the rest of your life

Outside of Unite2Uplift, I volunteered with the Staunton State Park Track Chair Program last summer. They have mechanical chairs with off-road tracks on them that allows people with mobility issues, whether they can’t walk or can’t walk for very long. In this program, you help the people with mobility issues navigate the equipment on the trails. I was able to help get people out on the mountain to spend time with their family where they don’t usually have an opportunity to experience. 

What are some ways (in your opinion) to serve the community and promote volunteerism especially in the field of education and youth development?

If the public wants to get involved with volunteering, it helps to align them with their passions. I think many people just think of volunteering as serving soup at a mission, but there are many ways to give your time, skills and money to organizations.

In terms of education and youth development, Unite2Uplift does a great job of providing life skills sessions in terms of Financial Literacy, Interviewing Skills, and Resume Preparation. I think another way to give back to youth development is to volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club and/or Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Not every child has access to adults they can look up to and ask questions about life, and these programs are a great way to be a mentor to kids that may not have that type of person in their life organically. 

 What Change you hope to bring (in community) through your association with Unite2Uplift?

“You begin saving the world by saving one man (or woman 😊 ) at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.”-Charles Bukowski 

This quote really speaks to me because if you can change one life, then you are doing your part to help change the world. With Unite2Uplift, your organization changes the lives of dozens of children and young adults every year, which is doing a great job of making the world a better place. 

 Please tell us about yourself?

We are a family of 2 kids, both in college, from India, interested in volunteering, literature and racquet sports

What inspired you to get involved in the community work?

We have always been involved in community work growing up. Like-minded friends who are doing so much more is always a constant source of inspiration. 

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment from your work with us or with any other organization?

Have been tutoring kids on Math/Physics, and adults on several areas of Information Technology, and it is always heartening when a student gets a better grade, or a friend gets a job

What are some ways (in your opinion) to serve the community and promote volunteerism especially in the field of education and youth development?

As many learned souls have told us, actions speak louder than words.  By us volunteering selflessly, people are naturally inclined to get inspired by your efforts. Then there are people who want to volunteer but are unable or unwilling to lead, for such people we need to create volunteering opportunities in their areas of interest/expertise.

What Change you hope to bring (in community) through your association with Unite2Uplift?

Raise awareness of the acute need to help/guide youth in finding satisfying careers and grow up to become caring individuals.

 What inspired you to volunteer with Unite2Uplift?

Unite2Uplift is a great team working towards a great cause. Providing a helping hand to those of the younger generation who are struggling has the potential to change their trajectory of life. This has cascading benefits for the community we live in.

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment while volunteering for Unite2Uplift?

Amongst the things I do with Unite2Uplift, I also provide mindfulness and yoga sessions to students, teachers, and volunteers. These are essential tools in stressful times. Seeing the burden of stress being lifted from shoulders, even momentarily, is extraordinarily rewarding. 

What do you like the most about volunteering with Unite2Uplift?

Unite2Uplift has a great core team of volunteers who bring lot of passion, creativity & dynamism to

our work. It is extremely rewarding to see that our actions are making a difference and having real impact on lives.

What change you hope to bring (in community) through Unite2Uplift?

The return on investing in our younger generation is very high. This helps in creating vibrant, dynamic, and productive individuals whose growth would have been otherwise stunted and underproductive. And as these individuals join our communities,the returns multiply many fold!

Please tell us about yourself?

We live in Highlands Ranch with our two daughters Tavishaa and Tanvi. I am a Spiritual consultant(www.sabinavanjani.com) & Rajan is media and telecom Professional. 

We believe that if we want to touch the future, we can do so by touching a life in the present

What inspired you to get involved in the community work?

Giving back to the society/community in whatever capacity has been part of our culture and upbringing. We have known Sue for the past 15 years and her involvement with community related work, her vision and ideas about community services resonate with ours.

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment from your work with us or with any other organization?

Working as a volunteer with U2U from past 3 years has been an enriching as well as a rewarding experience in many ways. From providing food and clothing to doing resume building workshops and yoga mindfulness sessions, the scope of U2U has been creative as well as innovative. During challenging times like Covid19 U2U volunteers did not back out. U2U went out to help those who were hard hit by the pandemic and helped in maximum capacity. Such experiences have worked wonders for mental health too.

What are some ways (in your opinion) to serve the community and promote volunteerism especially in the field of education and youth development?

We feel that we can serve the community by providing the under-provided with the right means to better their future. An increased awareness about the contributions made by volunteers, Impact made by the organization, Visibility and related activities like Volunteer week/month may help in promoting volunteerism.

We also believe in connecting folks looking to fork over funds to service industry workers and students currently impacted by COVID-19.

What Change you hope to bring (in the community) through your association with Unite2Uplift?

As Mother Teresa said - “Not all of us can do great things but we can do small things with great Love”. In other words, every effort, no matter how small, has an impact, triggers a positive reaction and maybe even inspires others.

We are a part of the change U2U believes in, and if our efforts as well as contributions transform or impact even a single life, we will consider ourselves fortunate. It also helps us to remember to be grateful for each and every moment with a different perspective in life.

What inspired you to volunteer with Unite2Uplift?  

We love the idea of giving back to the community in any way possible and because of that, we designed our company with an emphasis in community service.  Specifically, we believe the key of community growth is in supporting and educating our youth.  Because of their years of dedicated work in establishing trusting relationships, volunteering with Unite2Uplift provides a unique opportunity to reach specific populations within our community that would otherwise not be attainable.    

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment while volunteering for Unite2Uplift?  

We've been fortunate enough to offer a few different workshops, such as understanding and utilizing the power of body language, and financial growth and management.  The most rewarding part of teaching these classes is the opportunity to inspire people...  To offer insights that help enrich the lives of others.  David specifically remembers a moment when teaching a class about managing personal credit, when the kids in the first row started asking questions about how student loans and credit cards would impact their credit after school.  He was amazed at how insightful these kids were!  Here were a few young people who had never had credit before or needed to use it, but they knew it was important in life, and they asked some adult-level questions about how student loans work and how they could make the best moves for their futures. 

Tamara had the opportunity to speak to a group of young adults on the power of body language.  She specifically remembers how interactive, respectful and inquisitive the audience was on the topic. Parents and students alike were willing to share their stories related to the topic, further supporting the importance of the subject.  She remembers leaving the event feeling truly inspired by the stories shared and the authentic appreciation of those who attended.

What do you like the most about volunteering with Unite2Uplift?  One of the many opportunities Unite2Uplift offers is the chance to get involved in a diverse community.  Not only cultural, racial and enthnic diversity, but also diversity in the content they offer.  There are many different area experts, specializing in many different fields who contribute to the cause.  So, it's rewarding to know that our contributions are part of a larger whole, which comes together to offer a huge amount of value in the lives of others.

 What advice would you have for someone planning to volunteer?  David would say "know your audience" and prepare accordingly.  Since we spend our days working with industry professionals, it is important that we adapt our workshops for an audience who needs the foundation  built before moving on to more advanced concepts.  

Tamara believes everyone has something to offer, something to teach, and something of their own story or experience to share.  Like most things, authenticity is the key in volunteering with Unite2Uplift. Sharing of yourself, even if not as a specialist,  or a professional on a specific subject matter, is reason enough to volunteer with Unite2Uplift. 

 What changes do you hope to bring (in community) through Unite2Uplift? 

In order to be authentic in any teaching, there needs to be some level of exposure or vulnerability from the one offering the lesson.    We know that to change the world, people must be willing to change themselves.  Every time we have volunteered with Unite2Uplift, we have exposed ourselves and have seen areas in which we could grow and develop.  We hope that the more people volunteer, the more they themselves, become the change they hope to see.  In this process of becoming mentally "flexible", we have seen the growth in communication skills, empathy and understanding develop in others as a consequence.  It is our firm belief that people should continually strive to learn and grow from each other, and it is our hope that the seemingly small contributions we offer will support and help others succeed in whatever personal goals they set their minds to. 

 Please tell us about yourself?

Have been living in Denver for about 20 years with my husband, Jagan and two kids Jatin and Bhavya. Into IT profession and enjoy hiking in beautiful Colorado.

What inspired you to become involved with Unite2Uplift?

Helping and encouraging younger generations to achieve their goals was the key initiative of Unite2Uplift which in turn will build stronger and healthier communities and that was my inspiration to get involved more with this organization. Also, any and all help provided by volunteers/donors was reaching directly to people in need and that was another motivating factor for me to get more involved.

What has been the most memorable/rewarding moment from your work with us?

I cherish all memories associated with U2U. Every time U2U helps with school supplies and/or household supplies for families in need, the fact that the help is reaching the people in need as soon as they need it and the fact that some burden is lifted off an individual just for part of a day motivates me to get involved more.

What Change you hope to bring (in community) through your association with Unite2Uplift?

By helping younger generations, we are helping to bring strong future generations. By collaborating with similar minded volunteers, I hope we spread the positivity, give hope and belief that everyone matters.