Year-End Wrap-Up
Colorado Gives Day 2023
RFOV is beyond grateful for the support we received during Colorado Gives Day on December 5th. This year's campaign proved to be our most successful yet. Thanks to 106 donors we raised $18,742 - double our total last year on CO Gives Day.
Your contributions will directly benefit unfunded projects on public lands such as the popular Red Hill trail system.
Join the RFOV Team!
RFOV is hiring full-time season staff for the 2024 project season.
For information about specific positions and how to apply,
please visit http://www.rfov.org/careers or call 970-927-8241.
Our 2023 Impact
This year was our most productive season ever! Over the past two years, we doubled the number of volunteers at our projects and saw a 200% increase in the total hours dedicated to stewardship. This year, RFOV completed a total of 12,501 stewardship hours - the equivalent of one person working full-time for six years. The best part? The RFOV community achieved that in just 6 months! Other highlights include 1,457 unique volunteers and 835 students working on 52 miles of trail over 79 different project sites.
The full 2023 Impact Report is available on our website.
BIG NEWS
RFOV is one of Aspen Community Foundation’s 68 community grantmaking recipients! The Community Grantmaking program is designed to provide operational and program support to nonprofit organizations. This grant will support RFOV's Young Stewards Program throughout 2024.
RFOV is one of 264 recipients of the REI Cooperative Action Fund grant. This fund directly supports organizations creating a more equitable outdoors. RFOV is honored to be selected and will continue mobilizing a diverse community of volunteers to ensure our shared outdoors remain resilient for years to come.
NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
Youth In Nature News
The 2023 Youth In Nature cohort held its third monthly session of the year at the Colorado National Monument. Students completed a stewardship project on the popular Mica Mine trail, followed by canyoneering with Glenwood Climbing Guides through the Lemon Squeezer.
In December, the students will receive their Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certifications in Carbondale.
Applications for the 2024-25 cohort open on January 15. YIN is open to rising 9th-12th graders.
Learn more about the Youth In Nature program HERE.
EVENTS IN THE VALLEY
Sunlight Mountain Snowshoe Shuffle
Colorado Animal Rescue is putting on its annual Sunlight Mountain Snowshoe Shuffle. The 6-8k snowshoe race through Babbish Gulch starts and ends at the trailhead at Sunlight Mountain Resort in Glenwood Springs!
**CARPOOLING IS ENCOURAGED DUE TO LIMITED PARKING AT SUNLIGHT **
**DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE ANY BUILDING AT SUNLIGHT**
WHEN: Saturday, December 16
WHERE: Sunlight Mountain Resort, registration at 9am, race at 10am
10901 County Rd 117
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Click here for more information and how to register.
13th Annual Jingle Bell 5K Run
Join Independence Run and Hike in Carbondale for their 13th annual Jingle Bell 5K run, held every year on the Sunday before Christmas. Dogs and strollers are welcome. Wear an Ugly sweater or your favorite holiday costume and bring traction devices for your shoes, because the roads are often slippery this time of year. An award is given to the person who races in the ugliest sweater.
Registration is $25 and race benefits Roaring Fork School District Athletics/
WHEN: Sunday, December 17
WHERE: Race will start and finish at First Bank in Carbondale
791 CO-133
Register Here
124th Annual Christmas Bird Count
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) invites you to help count birds in the Aspen area for the 124th Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC), the longest-running citizen science survey in the world.
This is an opportunity to meet some of the great birders in our area, see our local bird community, and participate in this important census that has helped assess the health of bird populations and guided conservation action since 1900.
WHEN: Sunday, December 17
WHERE: Hallam Lake
Register Here
EASY WAYS SUPPORT RFOV
THE ASPEN PLEDGE
Simply by signing the Aspen Pledge, the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) will make a donation on your behalf to Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers.
Go to citymarketrewards.com
Login or create an account
When asked to "Link your card", choose "Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteer" from the list of organizations
