The Colfax Crew team has adopted Colfax Community Network (CCN) as its beneficiary for GroundFloor Media’s 10th anniversary Get Giving program. For Amanda Brannum, Laura Love, Jennefer Traeger, Kimmie Greene and myself, all it took was a few words about CCN to make us realize that we wanted to be a part of supporting its mission.

Let’s start with one simple question…

What do you think about when you drive down Colfax Avenue and pass motel after dilapidated motel?

I am willing to bet you don’t think very highly of the people who are inside. The terms drug addict, criminals and prostitutes probably come to mind. There may also be an assumption that the motel dwellers deserve to be there, or that they haven’t worked hard enough to find better housing.

However, what if you learned that those motels actually house hundreds of families with young children—children who do not choose to be born into poverty and spend their entire childhood growing up in those conditions? What would you think if someone told you that the grandparents, parents and children in the residential motels are more of a community—a community of good people who are struggling every day to stay one small step above being homeless?

When the Colfax Crew team learned the truth about those “seedy” Colfax Avenue motels, we knew that we wanted to donate our time and Get Giving donation budget to these families and the CCN staff.

Currently, CCN focuses on the following services for the motel community:

• Family Night
• Emergency Walk-In Services
• Access to Services
• After School Program
• Summer Camp

CCN is also always looking for volunteers and donations. We encourage you to visit the “Get Involved” section of the website to review available volunteer positions and current wish list items.

In the coming weeks our team is thrilled to be donating time and resources in several areas. We will attend a Family Night gathering to meet motel families and learn first-hand about their struggles and the support CCN provides. We are also sponsoring six field trips for children serviced by CCN in order to expose them to new, positive Denver experiences and hopefully lighten their spirits in the process. And finally, we will collect clothing and hygiene products for the families to help fulfill CCN’s current wish list needs.

We look forward to sharing our experiences with you here on the GFM blog. Click here to read more about our work with CCN, and please email us at getgiving@groundfloormedia.com if you would like to get involved as well!

~Alexis Anderson