Denver First Lady Courtney Johnston gives instructions to volunteers (including her husband) who gathered at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center to fill donated backpacks with pens, notebooks, and other supplies on the weekend before school started. Front Porch photo by Steve Larson

Two days before Denver Public Schools started classes in August, about 50 volunteers gathered in the gym at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center to fill 250 backpacks for low-income students and 250 boxes of supplies for teachers. It was the kickoff event for Denver First Lady Courtney Johnston’s volunteer program called Give5 Mile High. The idea is to encourage Denverites to volunteer five hours a month—either with an organization of their choice or at a monthly project that Give5 Mile High will organize.

Johnston came up with the idea after her family took a trip to Rwanda in 2022 and they learned that all citizens were required to give one day of service a month to keep the country clean. While she says she would never want to mandate community service in Denver, she does recognize that people are eager to serve. “I think since the pandemic, people want more connection with each other and volunteering can be an opportunity to create more connections to each other and to our community,” Johnston says.

Several local businesses stepped up to contribute money, food, or supplies for the project. Drick Bernstine, CEO of the apparel company Be a Good Person, donated bright blue t-shirts and also helped fill backpacks and boxes. He says this kind of event was a perfect match with the mission of his 9-year old company. “We want to dive in with all kinds of collaborations to build community throughout Colorado. And one of the things you need to do to be a good person is to be a good neighbor and help your community.”

First Lady Courtney Johnston mugs for the camera from behind a stack of boxes filled with school supplies for Denver teachers.
Front Porch photo by Steve Larson

Marcia Praver brought her 7-year-old grandson to help fill boxes with supplies for teachers. Photo by Mary Jo Brooks

There were people of all ages at the event, which is something Johnston is encouraging. “When our kids were younger, we struggled with finding ways to volunteer with small children. I understand that kids can get in the way, but it can discourage families from volunteering altogether. We’re trying to remove some of that red tape,” says Johnston.

Vince Chandler took advantage of that, bringing his 7-year old daughter to help. “I learned from an early age how important it is to give back, so modeling that for my daughter is important. Plus, she likes her teachers, so she’s hoping her teachers will get one of the boxes,” Chandler says with a grin.

Marcia Praver brought her 7-year old grandson Jackson. “He had a lot of questions about who would get a backpack and why they couldn’t buy their own,” says Praver. Jackson said he had fun doing the volunteer work and would like to do it again. “I like helping others,” he said before dashing back to his spot in the assembly line process.

Johnston admits there were some technical hiccups getting the sign up process to work for the first event but she is hopeful the next Give5 Mile High event on September 21 will bring out more volunteers. The theme will be “Beautify Denver” and Johnston plans to have cleanup projects in all 11 Denver City Council districts. “We’re also hoping to enlist many of the people who have been served by the House1000 initiative to get them out and serving.”

The theme for October will be related to wellness and November’s theme is focused on relieving food insecurity. For December, volunteers will be asked to develop more personal community connections by “visiting shut-ins, shoveling snow, delivering meals. There’s going to be a lot of partnering with community organizations to do more one-on-one volunteering,” says Johnston.

Volunteers at the inaugural Give5 Mile High event formed an assembly line to fill student backpacks with pencils, markers, and other supplies. Front Porch photo by Steve Larson

For more information about upcoming volunteer events, visit www.denvergov.org