Can a Car Dealership, a School District and a Woman’s Organization work together for the great good? We think its possible and we are excited to share this inspiring story with you!
We have been supporters of A Woman’s Work and the St. Vrain Valley School district for many years and we are always looking for way to help bring meaningful connections with all our partnerships. A Woman’s Work looks to provide women in our community a one-time hand up. The Career Elevation and Technology Center of the St. Vrain Valley School District looks to provide different school-based enterprise opportunities to students in our community, with Automotive Technology being a pathway being offered.
When a A Woman’s Work receives a referral from one their community partners that a woman needs vehicle repairs, the vehicle is taken over the to The Career Elevation and Technology Center and the Automotive Technology Students where it is assessed to determine if its more feasible to repair or replace the vehicle. This is where we come in, we have been able to help source some of these vehicles.
We had the opportunity to meet with Trinity Hood, Benjamin Holcomb and Riley Hutchinson. These three students are working on their Skills USA Community Service Project, “A Woman’s Work Partnership with St. Vrain Valley School District.” These three students work directly with A Woman’s Work and their mentor, Brian Smallwood in repairing the vehicles. All three agreed that working on A Woman’s Work vehicles gave them a different sort of satisfaction knowing that the recipients truly need the vehicle they are working on. So far they have been able to restore more than 10 vehicles over the past year.
We are so inspired by these young adults. They are having a positive impact on woman in our community and their families and we could not be prouder of this partnership. We want to wish Trinity, Ben and Riley the best of luck as they compete in the Skills USA competition in April!
Welcome back to our blog! We are so excited to introduce our next Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization. This one might seem familiar if you have been following us for awhile, as we highlighted this inspiring organization back in 2017. A Woman’s Work is a unique funding source for women in the St. Vrain Valley who need financial support for immediate needs that cannot be met by other sources.
In 2003 a group of women posed this question: “What happens to normally self-sufficient women in our community when they are met with a financial crisis and there is no help available from family or friends?” The answer to this question was the inspiration for A Woman’s Work. Their vision is to create a community where women and families have hope for a better tomorrow.
So how does A Woman’s Work distribute grants to women in our community? First the recipients must be women and either live or work within the boundaries of the St. Vrain Valley School District for the last 30 days. The women must be referred by either a professional partner such as: St. Vrain Valley School, Boulder County, City of Longmont or by a donor or staff member. All assistance is in the form of grants, and all funds are issued to the recipient through a business or organization.
How much has A Woman’s Work given to our community?
In 2021:
$145,475 was given to 120 in the form of grants
$46,517 in Driving for Success grants to 10 women
$5,100 to 62 women at the Safe Shelter
$23,931 in scholarships to 12 women
$2,000 in gift cards or gas
This all adds up to $223,023 to 204 women. That’s 204 women and their families that A Woman’s Work was able to positively impact!
Here are just a few short stories of how these grants of a hand up were able to help the women in our community:
AWW paid the rent of a single father of a six year old daughter that had been struggling financially due to COVID
A family breadwinner was laid off due to COVID. A Woman’s Work paid for new tires for her car.
AWW provided a deposit on an apartment for a single mom and domestic abuse survivor who had recently fled the abusive relationship
A mother of four was in a serious accident, a drunk driver hit her and her husband and left her a quadriplegic. A Woman’s Work provided a special mattress and bed frame for her return home from Craig Hospital
A senior citizen on a fixed income and the caretaker of her grandchildren had to vacate her current apartment. AWW was able to assist in paying the deposit on a new one for her and her family.
A Woman’s Work paid the rent for a single mom who has her own cleaning business but lost her client base due to COVID.
These are just a few of the families that A Woman’s Work was able to support during their time of need. We want to thank A Woman’s Work for having such an impact on our community. If you want to learn more about this inspiring organization please visit: awomanswork.org . Or check out this short video: https://youtu.be/xC537VJ2U3s
We hope you will join us next time as we highlight another inspiring organization!
Welcome back and thanks for joining us. If you are just joining us for the first time, thanks for stopping by. Throughout the year we partner with some inspiring organizations and we are so honored to be able to partner with them and share the work they are doing to make our community one of the best places to live. This month we wanted to highlight our newest Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization- RISE Against Suicide.
Rise Against Suicide Logo
RISE was originally founded as Second Wind Fund of Boulder County in 2002 after four students at a Colorado school died by suicide within a nine month time frame. The community came together and held a small Run/Walk. The proceeds raised from that event helped support other students who were struggling with mental health challenges in that school. In 2020 the name was changed to RISE Against Suicide to better reflect the non-profit’s mission and drive. RISE Against Suicide helps youth at risk of suicide by removing the financial and social barriers to treatment, allowing them to find hope and healing. RISE serves youth ages 0-19 who are uninsured or underinsured struggling with suicidal thoughts. After RISE receives a referral, the young person can be matched with a qualified licensed mental health therapist within 48-72 hours. This immediate response to a mental health crisis is unique to RISE, and a vital time frame for suicidal youth who cannot wait for mental health care. In some agencies, the average time to be seen by a mental health therapist is 7-10 WEEKS. Since RISE was founded in 2009 they have supported more than 1,100 youth and have funded over 6,000 therapy sessions for young people in the St. Vrain Valley and Boulder Valley school districts. RISE strives to ensure that not one more of our community’s youth will be lost to suicide. RISE would not be able to help our youth without the support of our community. Through grants, private donations, and fundraising they are able to remove the barriers to accessing mental health support. While it is only February, plans are already underway for their annual Emerge 5K Run in May. More details are coming soon and we hope that you will enjoy us as we support this inspiring organization. If you are interested in sponsoring this event or volunteering, please email kaleigh@riseagainstsuicide.org If your child, a young person you know, or you are struggling with suicidal thoughts,19 years old or younger, and uninsured or underinsured, please call (720) 212-7527 or email referral@riseagainstsuicide.org.
Please note RISE is NOT a crisis center. For mental health emergencies please call 9-1-1 or CALL THE COLORADO CRISIS SERVICES: 844-493-8255 We want to thank RISE Against Suicide for making a positive impact on the youth of our community. We hope you will join us again as we highlight another inspiring organization.
Welcome back to Stapp Interstate Toyota’s blog! As we are reflecting back on 2021 we hope that you have enjoyed learning more about some inspiring organizations that are making a positive impact in our community. We truly believe that communities are stronger when people work together for the greater good. We are proud to support a number of organizations throughout the year and hope that you will join us as we highlight even more organizations next year. Today we wanted to shine the spotlight on one of our Stapp Inspires Organizations, True North Young Adult Services.
True North Young Adult Services provides a safe environment where young adults who have experienced the foster care system or have been affected by abuse, neglect or homelessness are accepted and supported for who they are. True North provides these young adults a variety of services such as secure and affordable housing, scholarships, and one-on-one coaching to help develop fundamental life skills. By providing these services True North intends that each participant will develop a clear vision and purpose for their lives and learns how to be independent productive members of our community.
True North Young Adult Services has two main programs. The first is the Polaris House, this is a transitional living program for young people who have aged out of the foster care system or at a transition point in life and need a little support getting back on their feet. This program provides a stepping stone to help the young adults in the program reach self sufficiency. Residents are required to either be attending classes or working full time and are responsible for paying low cost rent and housing related bills. Young people in True North’s program also have the ability to take advantage of the Scholarship program. True North awards scholarships for undergraduate degrees at the University of Colorado in conjunction with the CU Guardian Scholars program, as well as scholarships to any accredited institution or vocational training program. We want to thank True North Young Adult Services for having a positive impact in so many young people’s lives. We hope that you will take a moment to learn more about this incredible organization! https://www.truenorthyas.org
Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization- Ocean First Institute
Hello and welcome to our blog, we appreciate you stopping by. Today we wanted to highlight our newest Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization – Ocean First Institute! If you are like us we were intrigued that an ocean conservation organization was based right here, in the middle of the foothills with a state of the art facility, educating and equipping the next generation of leaders.
Ocean First Institute built the first interactive marine science education center in Northern Colorado, where they are able to offer hands-on marine science education to 6th-12th graders in Boulder. At this facility students are able to explore and study using equipment such as their in-house pool, touch tanks, wet lab and digital microscopes. In addition the Institute has a number of broad and diverse research projects. They also offer field expeditions, virtual outreach and summer camps.
We are always encouraged and inspired when we see two community organizations collaborating for the benefit of our community. One such research project brought another Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization on board. Ocean First Institute has partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, The Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley School District, and Lyons High School to create a program to reintroduce a state threatened fish species, the northern redbelly dace (Phoxinus eos), to the St. Vrain River. This species is endangered in Colorado due to low population numbers and is listed as a Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Management recommendations for this species include the restoration of streams to natural function and to enhance connections for migration. Conservation priorities include identifying suitable habitat and restocking appropriate streams with redbelly dace. In recent years, due to the 2013 flood, the St. Vrain river and adjacent ponds have been restored to conditions favorable to the reintroduction of the northern redbelly dace. In particular, Webster pond within Pella Crossing has been restored as a shallow, slow-moving vegetated habitat with minimal predatory fish and bullfrogs. With successful reintroduction into Webster pond, northern redbelly dace can be introduced into the St. Vrain River, thereby greatly expanding their Colorado range, which is now severely limited to the West Plum Creek Drainage, south of Chatfield Reservoir.
Of course none of this would be possible without a passionate team of scientists, educators, and other support staff. To hear them talk about any of the projects they are working on, it is clear that they are committed to not only our community, but our global community as well. We hope you will take a moment and visit Ocean First Institute at oceanfirstinstitute.org to learn more about this incredible organization and how you might be able to get involved. Keep checking back as we highlight other inspiring organizations making a positive impact on our community!
Hello and welcome to our blog! We are so excited to introduce you to our newest Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization. Intercambio was founded in 2001 with a mission to provide relationship-based English language education, resources and training. Through these innovative programs Intercambio looks to facilitate meaningful connections, build cultural awareness and inspire confidence.
While teaching English is at the core of Intercambio, how they accomplish this goal is truly inspiring. Teaching English the Intercambio way helps unleash the potential of individuals and our community. By building meaningful relationships this has allowed connections between students and volunteers. This is not a one way street, Intercambio’s students and volunteers learn from each other and this helps open the door to meaningful relationships. Within the relationships cultural awareness and appreciation begins to grow. This inspires a new confidence in all participants and enables both students and volunteers to step out of their comfort zone.
Intercambio has created their own curriculum that was designed with relationships in mind. Every lesson leads to a conversation, leading to both teachers and students sharing about their lives. Students often come with a set of perspectives and life experiences extremely different from their teacher’s. As students learn to communicate their perspectives and experiences, not only does language retention increase, but so too do feelings of belonging. This cycle continues, deepening connections, reducing bias and assumptions, and building bridges across cultures.
2020 was a challenging year for everyone. We asked Intercambio to share some insights in how they were able to adapt to the pandemic and continue serving their students, volunteers, and our community. Here are a few “By the Numbers”:
Students:
· In the first 6 months of the pandemic, 300 students were trained for online classes. For 90% of them, it was their first-ever online class.
· In 2020, our students came from 55 different countries
· 1,009 children in Boulder county have a parent learning English with us.
Outcomes for students:
· Children of our students have a 13% higher high school graduation rate than their peers
· Over 90% of our students feel welcome in Boulder County, even though just 46% of the general population believe that our county is open to immigrants
· 52% of our students feel well-connected in the community after taking classes
Volunteers:
· In 2020, we had 243 volunteer teachers teaching twice a week
· In 2020, 218 one-time volunteers participated in Community Conversations Events
· 5,000+ volunteers have been trained since 2001
Outcomes for volunteers:
· 87% of our volunteer participants have friends that are English language learners, compared to 46% of prospective participants
· 60% of volunteers feel more connected to the community
As Intercambio continues to push forward in creating opportunities for our community to come together they have some exciting initiatives and opportunities to get involved!
· Community Conversations: A one-time volunteer opportunity that invites community members to help our students practice their English. The event is run in a “rotational” format where volunteers connect with different groups of students for 10 minutes at a time. More information: https://intercambio.org/community-events/community-conversations-form/
o These generally occur quarterly, and spaces fill up fast!
· CC English: We recently launched CC English, our online platform that connects students and teachers from anywhere in the United States. The wait list to participate is currently full, but here is more information about this program: https://www.ccenglish.org/
· National Program: Our formula is available to nonprofits across the country with our National Program. Nonprofits can purchase our curriculum and receive training and support for running English classes The Intercambio Way. Our network spreads across the country and supports literacy and ESL coalitions, churches and religious institutions, immigrant and refugee organizations, and libraries.
· Conversations on Race and Equity: In early 2021,Intercambio partnered with Common Good Collective to launch Conversations on Race and Equity for English Learners. These brave conversation spaces allow students to talk and learn about racism in the U.S, in a safe, structured setting. We are hoping to expand this program nationally and will soon host the first-ever community event.
We hope that you will take some time to learn more about this incredible organization. Keep checking back as we continue to highlight these amazing local organizations!
Hello and welcome to our blog! We are so excited to introduce you to our newest Stapp Inspires Spotlight Organization. This past year has been a challenge for everyone, and time and time again we have been inspired by the organizations in our community adapting and faithfully serving our community. Colorado Friendship is just one example of a community organization that is rising to the challenge, and we are a proud sponsor of this organization.
Colorado Friendship was founded 22 years ago as an emergency relief organization focused on delivering emergency food and clothing to disaster victims. Over the years Colorado Friendship has responded to numerous natural disasters in the area and beyond Colorado’s borders. While disaster relief is still a part of Colorado Friendship’s mission, the focus has now changed to serving the daily needs of our community’s less fortunate. Colorado Friendship has three distinct programs; IncrEdibles, Hot Meals on the Street and Mobile Food and Clothing outreach.
IncrEdibles Food Tote program is their flagship program. This program provides healthy, kid-friendly, nonperishable food to low-income students in our community who otherwise might go hungry over the weekend. Currently the IncrEdibles program serves approximately 600 students at 10 schools in the St. Vrain Valley School District. One might wonder how Colorado Friendship is able to meet the needs of so many students. Their volunteers make this process possible. One weekend a month Colorado Friendship’s volunteers meet at their 4,000 square foot warehouse where they can pack 1,200 bags in an hour and half! These bags are then packed up in their trailer where they are delivered to the schools and into the backpacks of our students.
Hot Meals on the Street focuses on serving the homeless in our community. Every Sunday their volunteers are in Boulder providing a hot meal to those in need. Their volunteers prepare, cook and serve more than 5,000 healthy, nutritious meals every single year. They are one of the few organizations that strategically set up tables and chairs for folks to come and eat. They also have opportunity to select what they needs from Colorado Friendship’s trailer.
The Mobile Food and Clothing outreach is one of the most unique aspects of Colorado Friendship’s organization. By having several mobile trailers that can be stocked with needed food and clothing, they are able to travel to where people need help. Colorado Friendship has been able to respond to natural disasters in our area such as the High Park fire or the 2013 Flood. The generosity of Colorado Friendship and its volunteers extends to those outside Colorado, they were able to provide much needed clothing and food during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.
We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about this incredible organization. If you want to learn more, volunteer or donate check out: http://coloradofriendship.org We hope you will check back as we continue to highlight the inspiring organizations that make our community great!
Hello! Welcome to our little corner of the world. We are so thankful you have taken a moment to stop by. We do want to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged us these last few weeks. We have all had concerns about the COVID-19 virus and how it affects our lives. We appreciate your patience as we navigate this together. We hope today’s blog will provide a little encouragement today. Now more than ever, we are so excited to share our newest Educator in our Stapp Inspires Educator Stoplight Series. We had the opportunity at the beginning of last month to meet with Jennifer White. Jennifer is a first grade teacher at Lyons Elementary. She is in the middle of her 12th year at Lyons, but has over 20 years of teaching experience in a variety of settings.
Jennifer freely admits she “fell into teaching” by chance. When she was living in San Francisco there was a substitute teacher shortage. She applied and had a principal encourage her to develop her skill as a teacher. The rest, as they say, is history. Jennifer has a calm presence that is the perfect fit when working with first graders. She loves first grade because of the growth she gets to see each year in her students. She thoroughly enjoys her families, staff and community support at Lyons Elementary School.
Jennifer was at Lyons during the Flood of 2013. Lyons Elementary was shut down for months while the town regrouped and recovered. She spoke of how the entire St. Vrain community rallied around the Lyons schools providing support, oftentimes without being asked. She spoke of her concern for her students during this time and how they were doing. This is who Jennifer is, those students are like her own kids. This care and concern does not end when students leave her classroom. She talked about how she still runs into her former students even when they are in high school and wants to know what is happening in their lives. We have no doubt that this trait will help guide her current students through these challenging times.
Jennifer, we thank you for taking the time to meet with us. And to our readers, thank you for supporting us. We are honored to be a part of this great community, and we will get through this together!
During this challenging time, we at Stapp Interstate Toyota have been reminded how important our mission of “earning relationships that last generations” truly is. Like you, we are constantly looking for guidance and direction from our local, state and federal government to help direct us how we can best support our community through the COVID-19 pandemic. Automobile services have been classified as essential businesses and we will therefore remain open to serve our customers that need to have safe and reliable transportation. We understand that vehicle repairs and regularly scheduled maintenance help ensure that your vehicle is safe and reliable for you and your family. With that being said, the safety of our customers and staff is of the highest importance and we are committed to consistently monitoring and follow recommendations from the CDC.
We want to invite our customers to take advantage of our same day and next day service appointments. You can schedule your appointment online hereor call us at (303)776.1743. In addition to our traditional service appointment offerings, we are also temporarily giving our customer’s the following options:
No Contact Service Appointment: For those service customers who prefer no contact while their vehicle is being serviced please park your vehicle in the Night Time Drop Off/Early Bird Parking Area. Place your keys in the Early Bird/Unattended Drop Off secure lock box, in the envelope provided. Call the dealership service department at (303).776.1743 and advise, that you have left your keys in the night drop box. Enjoy our Service Customer waiting area, that is set up to respect social distancing. Read a book on the benches, at the various locations on our display lot or go for a walk on the nearby trails. When your vehicle is complete we will contact you to accept payment over the phone, if applicable, and return your keys and paper work in your vehicle.
Pick up / drop off Concierge Service Appointments: For those service customers who don’t feel comfortable leaving their home during this time, we will be offering a few pick up / drop off concierge appointments per day. This appointment would consist of one of our employees picking up the customer’s vehicle at their home (with in a 15 mile radius of the dealership), driving it to our Dealership and returning it to them once the service on the vehicle is complete.
Complimentary Loaner Vehicle Service Appointments: For those customers who would prefer to not wait on-site while their vehicle is being serviced at our Dealership, we will be offering a few complimentary loaner vehicle appointments per day. This appointment would consist of the customer driving the vehicle to our Dealership and being given a TRAC (Toyota Rental Car) vehicle to use while the service is being performed. Upon completion, the customer would return the TRAC vehicle to our Dealership and pick up their vehicle.
No matter which service appointment option you choose we are also putting in each vehicle; a seat cover, floor mat cover, steering wheel cover and shifter cover before each service and removing them just before we return your vehicle to you.
Should you need to purchase a vehicle, we are here to help you too. We have launched an online purchase process with the following options:
Vehicle Care: Vehicles in our inventory will be treated with a pre-drive sanitation process. This includes wiping down high touch areas such as steering wheels, door handles, display screens, instrument clusters, and window operational buttons. We also have protective gloves and seat covers available for use. Your vehicle will also be treated pre and post appraisal to ensure the safety of our staff and our customers.
Online Purchase Options: The option is flexible but could include one of our employees bringing a vehicle to the customer at their home, guidance through how to complete an online Loan/Lease Pre-Approval, a sight unseen appraisal for your trade-In, and in some cases, we can even complete the final paperwork and delivery at your home.
At Stapp Interstate Toyota, we strive to take care of the people in the community in which we work and live in, especially our Team Members and the valued Customers our Dealership serves. Please call us at 303.776.1743 with any questions you may have or to set up an appointment.
Check out just a few of the features on the 2020 RAV4 Toyota TRD Off-Road Package:
Exterior:
-18” 6-spoke matte-black TRD flow formed alloy wheels with 225/60R18 100H Tires
-Falken WILDPEAK all terrain tires
-LED Daytime Running Lights
-Integrated LED fog lights
-Unique color-keyed upper and black lower front bumper
-TRD-tuned independent MacPherson strut front suspension with stabilizer bar; multi-link rear suspension with stabilizer bar
-Power tilt/slide moonroof with one-touch open/close
-Black RAV4 and TRD Off-Road Badging
-Red Painted coil springs
Interior Features:
-SofTex-trimmed front seats with red accents and stitching, embossed seat inserts and TRD stitching
-Red- accented interior, including red stitching on dash, doors and seat
-TRD all-weather floor mats and cargo liner
Powertrain:
-Dynamic Torque Vectoring All-Wheel Drive (TV-AWD) with Rear Driveline Disconnect
-Multi-Terrain Select (MUD & SAND, ROCK & DIRT, and SNOW modes)
Need even more on your new 2020 RAV4 Toyota TRD-Off Road?
Then check out these AVAILABLE Options and Packages:
TRD Off- Road Weather Package Includes:
-Heated Steering Wheel
-Perforated heated and ventilated front seats
-Rain-sensing variable intermittent windshield wipers with de-icer function
Premium Audio with Dynamic Navigation and JBL includes:
-11 JBL speakers (in 9 locations) including subwoofer and amplified
TRD Off-Road Technology Package (requires Premium Audio with JBL) includes:
-Bird’s Eye View Camera with Perimeter Scan, overhead 360 degree view in low speed Drive and Reverse and curb view
-Front and Rear Parking Assist with Automated Braking (PA w/AB)
-Digital Rearview mirror with HomeLink Universal transceiver
-Qi-compatible wireless smartphone charging
Again, this is just a few of the features and options that are available on the all new 2020 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road package. Feel free to stop by to ask us questions or take one out for a test drive! To see what we currently have in inventory check out: http://bit.ly/2N42L2u
Stapp Interstate Toyota 