In times where things seem more divided than ever, our local communities can make for important common ground. Sometimes, opportunities to be involved in the community are direct and consistent, like sitting on the board of a nonprofit. Other times, those opportunities come in a less official—but no less meaningful—capacity. Meet Cori Keeton Pope and Alan Walker. Both in their own ways are deeply involved in their Wash Park neighborhood and the larger Denver community.
Cori Keeton Pope and her family are the quintessential Wash Park residents: they grocery shop in the neighborhood and go to school and the gym there. Cori’s husband Cameron works in Wash Park and walks to the office each day. They have remodeled their home to make it the place they’ll live for the long haul.
Cori has been involved with various neighborhood organizations, including Girl Scouts. Several years ago she developed a business partnership program, Partners in Education, at Lincoln Elementary that helps the school raise funds and while raising awareness for local businesses.
Currently, she sits on the board and leads marketing efforts for A Little Help, a nonprofit that connects neighbors and supports seniors in the community. Her work with the organization has helped grow A Little Help’s volunteer base, ultimately increasing the numbers of seniors the group can serve.
And Cori’s husband and two young daughters are included in that volunteer base; the family volunteers in A Little Help’s Service Saturday! events. Through both her official and volunteer roles, Cori and her family enrich their Wash Park community.
Alan Walker’s story includes roles in organizations serving Wash Park and the greater Denver community. During his decades-long career, Denver was Alan’s home base but he travelled heavily, with a schedule that prevented him from becoming deeply involved in the Wash Park and larger communities. But retirement brought him the opportunity to continue to live a meaningful life by giving back to his community.
After volunteering with the Better Business Bureau, Discover Denver, the Denver Botanic Gardens, AARP, A Little Help, and the Commission on Aging, he eventually whittled down the organizations he worked with to three: A Little Help, the Botanic Gardens, and AARP.
In his role with A Little Help, Alan serves as the Board Chair. He chose to continue to focus on A Little help because the organization started in the Wash Park neighborhood, and he deeply believes in its community-minded mission. In his role, Alan is tasked with developing a thoughtful growth strategy for the organization. So far that approach has paid off—the organization is building its fifth Branch, Larimer County, starting with a launch party in Ft. Collins early this summer.
Alan also volunteers at the Denver Botanic Gardens, where he leads orientation for new members and for special event and ambassador teams, and is working on its newly-founded Volunteer Leadership Council. And his volunteer role with AARP centers mostly on representing the group at cultural events like movie screenings or plays at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Cori’s and Alan’s work has a common thread: both are deeply committed to serving and supporting their local communities in ways that fit into their lives.
Dr. Paul Leon Ramsey is a graduate of Denver South High School and the Iliff School of Theology. He is a resident of the University neighborhood and the married father of three DPS students. Paul is the pastor of Mayflower Congregational Church UCC in Englewood, and serves as the Executive Director of A Little Help, a nonprofit that connects neighbors to help seniors thrive. A Little Help provides rides to seniors, in addition to other services (720-242-9032).
