A part of something bigger: An LGBT community built — for decades — by volunteers

“Working with volunteers who have the passion to make a difference inspires me to do the same,” said Juli German, Community Engagement Coordinator at the Center.

Speaking to a packed room of volunteers, staff, friends and family members, the GLBT Community Center of Colorado’s Community Engagement Coordinator Juli German recognized nine volunteers who have been instrumental in implementing various outreach programs. “This year so far, we’ve had 11,000 volunteer hours go into the Center, and we have done outreach to 4,000 people,” German said.

The Center was in the midst of its Open House and Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony, acknowledging individuals who work tirelessly to maintain and expand critical outreach services.

One of those vital services includes Rainbow Alley, a program geared toward LGBT youth and allies ages 12 to 21. With 800 hours provided this year alone, volunteers ensure the continuation of various youth-led services such as theater workshops, a computer lab, support groups and educational services — and most importantly — a safe place for LGBT youth to hang out.

“Having that space was life saving for me,” said Nicole Goldman, who attended the open house. “I got a scholarship through the Gill Foundation. As part of that, I did a lot of volunteer work at the Center when it was located on Broadway.”

In 2001, Goldman helped launch a Gay–Straight Alliance at her high school in Highlands Ranch — the first GSA in the county. The principal and several parents objected, attempting to shut down the fledgling club founded to promote awareness and acceptance of LGBT students. Goldman enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union to keep the GSA open — then she began receiving threats.

“I had a police escort from class to class my senior year,” Goldman said. “Coming down to the Center and having this space was so critical to me, and now it’s a place where I still like to work.”

Goldman is now a stylist at In.Salon located in Centennial, donating haircuts to the Center. “It’s my way to give back,” she said. “I think it’s so important to be a part of the community and, for me, to feel like I’m doing whatever part I can.”

Those whose jobs serve or benefit the LGBT community often say that they are immensely grateful for the opportunity to spend so much of their lives on causes that they find important — but with so much to be done at various community groups, the LGBT community and LGBT activism as we know it couldn’t exist
without volunteers.

For many volunteers, giving free time and energy is their way of processing and healing from the challenges they’ve faced in their own lives and making sure their own voices are heard in the community and movement.

Jayme Harris volunteers at the Center’s front desk, work that began last August after she was laid off from her job. “I initially came down here to participate in the transgender job fair, and I got to meet a few of the people and then decided to volunteer,” she said.

Harris, who refers to herself as a Colorado semi-native after her family moved here when she was 7, said she loves welcoming visitors or assisting callers in finding resources and information over the phone. She didn’t realize how much the work meant to her until she almost had to leave the Center.

“There was a time when I thought I was going to have to stop volunteering due to my financial situation, and I was surprised how shook up I got about the fact that I might have to quit volunteering,” Harris said. “I just started crying, and that’s really out of character for me.”

Like Goldman, Harris said she benefitted greatly from the Center’s outreach services. With 500 volunteer hours invested in the transgender program, the Center is seeking to make strides for the transgender community, including a support group for transgender veterans and information on insurance companies that now cover transition services.

“It’s just amazing how the Center has changed to support the transgender community,” Harris said. “They’ve got the transgender job fair, support groups, and a job group that meets twice a month for people looking for work.”

Jules Tybor was honored at the Center’s open house ceremony as volunteer of the year for his work in the transgender program’s Female to Male support group. He first began his work at the Center in 2000.

“I think the most rewarding part of volunteering is just watching people become who they are,” said Tybor. “Watching them see themselves in the world as they’ve always seen themselves inside.”

Tybor, who transitioned 12 years ago, remarked on how the important efforts of volunteers in the local community are essential to those who are transitioning.

“I went stealth,” said Tybor, discussing his own transition process. “Everyone thought I was a straight man in the straight world, and then I realized that the community needs people to lead and mentor, to show them what life could be after and through transition.”

For Tybor, working at the Center continually galvanizes his own resolve to donate his time and share his experiences, struggles, and successes with others.

“When a transgender person celebrates a small victory, like using the restroom of their appropriate gender and seeing how excited they are and how joyful they are in facing whatever it is that’s been holding them back, it’s just a constant inspiration for me.”

Volunteers are also imperative in ensuring the needs and concerns of the Colorado LGBT community are heard on the national stage. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the nation, with a steering committee located here in Denver operated exclusively by volunteers.

“I see HRC Colorado as a really important conduit between what’s happening locally and what we achieve on a national level,” said Alex Lindquist, Co-chair for the HRC Colorado Federal Club and a member of HRC’s Board of Governors.

Every year, hundreds of Coloradans devote their time and talents to HRC’s local initiatives such as the annual Mile High Gala held every April, fundraising events sponsored by local Colorado businesses, or just helping out with local outreach programs such as the ya es hora Workshop, assisting legal permanent residents in filling out their applications for citizenship.

Lindquist said his initiative to serve began in 2004 when President George Bush was reelected. “I was really worried about the future of even what few rights we had at the time, and I thought, well I can’t just be angry about it, I need to do something.”

Lindquist reflected on his own experiences growing up in Pueblo and coming out of the closet when he was sixteen years old. “I can say that I’ve been really fortunate since I came out. My family is very supportive, and my friends at my workplace have always been supportive.”

But Lindquist acknowledged that not everyone is as fortunate. The year he came was also the same year Mathew Shepard was brutally beaten and tied to a fence near Laramie, Wyoming in October of 1998. Shepard’s death sparked a national dialogue on LGBT hate crimes in America.

“That really had a big impact on me as I was formulating my own sexual identity,” said Lindquist. “Here is this college student who isn’t all that different form me, experiencing the total opposite of all the positive things that I had gone through. It really inspired me on a road to make sure that everybody feels the same level of acceptance and equality that I’ve been fortunate to have.”

At the Center’s volunteer cere- mony, German echoed Lindquist’s concerns that there are still a number of challenges facing the LGBT community in establishing full equality, challenges that can only be met with the help of the hundreds of individuals who commit their free time every year to fostering progressive change.

“Our programs are developed because of the needs of the community, but they grow due to the passion and hard work and dedication of our volunteers,” German said. “It’s really an honor to work with all of the people who come in with their passion and their inspiration to help us expand what we do.”