Change! When compassion moves us to invest in our community we have to consider the Long Game. Sustainable positive impact is vital if we’re going to make meaningful change. But the key word here is “change!” When we aim at change we HAVE to be prepared to spend years aligning partners, programs and plans in order to be prepared to deliver ongoing positive results for the foreseeable future! 

Collaborations! In 2014 Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy envisioned building a “super collaboration” between the mayor’s office and organizations. The first of these was the Lakewood Faith Coalition linking all faiths together for partnership with the city. It was chaired by Lakewood Connects ED Reg Cox. 

Then the Coalition to End Hunger in Lakewood linked +50 different food service organizations. Finally, the Lakewood Service Organization Coalition linked Kiwanis, Rotary, Optimists and Elks in the city. 

Serve Spot! January 2021 Reg along with the chairs of the other two coalitions formed Serve Spot Lakewood merging these Coalitions into one. Serve Spot’s first area of focus was aimed at understanding and supporting elementary schools during the pandemic. 

Need! We discovered 5 schools where food, clothing and basic things like laundry detergent were needed. Families at the school couldn’t access other sources of help and the “Community Resource Center” (CRC) concept was born. A CRC is a “food choice” pantry allowing patrons to pick what resources they want including food, clothing and some support classes and programs. 

Examples of a CRC: 

1. At Westgate Elementary their CRC was set up in a detached portable classroom. Immediately families began accessing support daily. 
2. At Foothills their CRC was originally set up in a portable classroom but has been moved into a large hall closet! The CRC is called “Foothills Foodies” and as enrollment grew space limitations have created challenges for supporting family needs there! 
3. At Rose Stein the CRC is just the Family Engagement Liaison’s office (see pictures below)! Schools are doing the best they can! 

Facing and Fixing our Challenges! As staff rotates at schools the CRC concept required constant reorientation to new faces and partners. Serve Spot would build out a portable or closet only to lose it and all the infrastructure investment. How could we build a sustainable outpost for thriving and flourishing with so many constantly changing variables? The need wasn’t diminishing, in fact, it was growing! 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)! Summer 2022 Serve Spot began a process of securing an MOU with the school district so that long term CRC program success could be established. We are excited to announce that early 2024 we signed the MOU and we’re ready to build out the CRC model in Lakewood! 

What took so long? You may have asked the same question about making some kind of positive change in your life too! Here’s what we believe; The Long Game is the only way to make sustainable positive change! 2 years of patience built a foundation for a generation of students and families in underserved communities that will last for decades! Lakewood Connects is all about the LONG GAME! We supported building city coalitions, then the building of Serve Spot and then the Community Resource Center project! 

Get ready to help us! In upcoming newsletters we will update you on opportunities for helping support and lead the CRC’s in our schools in Lakewood and beyond! We expect this work to multiply to other cities in other states! Thanks for your encouragement and support! 

Remember… change moves at the speed of relationship! Invest in the long game in your city today! 

Rose Stein Family Engagement Liaison Terry Pauley 

Terry’s current Office / Community Resource Center (CRC) 

The story of how a city-wide day of service was envisioned and initiated in Lakewood, Colorado in less than 1 year starts with an Idea, a Friendship and an ambitious plan to address a Perplexing Challenge! 

The Idea: In 2014 Mayor Adam Paul recruited leaders from Faith, Service Clubs and Food Service Organizations to build connections within their area of expertise then link with city leaders to build “Greater Good” Coalitions. The mayor called this, “Lakewood Linked” and the idea took off! Pastor Reg Cox built the Faith Coalition. Nonprofit leader Jane Barnes of Benefits in Action built the Coalition to End Hunger in Lakewood. Several service club leaders including Kiwanian Steve Otto built the Lakewood Service Organization Coalition. In less than 16 months Lakewood Linked was leading change in the city! 

The Friendship: By linking like-organizations together we now had a platform to build and grow a “volunteer culture.” But cultures like this are built upon friendships before they actually do things! Faith groups who had previously not spoken to one another partnered to serve neighborhood schools! Food service organizations began sharing resource information and delivery services with each other! When service clubs linked together their cumulative capacity for making a positive impact exponentially increased! Friendship, it turns out, is the foundation for grander vision, possibilities and action! Positive change in a city moves at the speed of relationship! Any fool can criticize or complain but it takes courage and humility to make friends, share vision and link arms in a spirit of common cause! 

Perplexing challenge: For generations “sustained meaningful community service” has been spotty in Lakewood. Some areas of need are addressed while others go ignored. Compassionate coalitions start with an ambitious “bang!” but soon fizzle. Good-intentioned initiatives are activated only to create more problems than they solve! How can we truly partner, listen and learn before-we-act and create sustainable organizations? Does service to neighbors-in-need “have to” rob them of dignity or the motivation to improve their lives? Fact: “Need” will never go away…but good-will, compassion and conscientious strategies of building pathways for sustainability must be constantly rebuilt, reimagined and reengineered! We need coalitions like Lakewood Linked so greater-good continues!    

With aims like “sustainable” and “meaningful service” the “Lakewood Linked Initiative” is now called; “Serve Spot Lakewood” and what began as an idea is now a movement! Serve Spot is led by Jane Barnes and is focused on building a volunteer portal that promotes service opportunities in our city. Serve Spot merged the three Lakewood Linked coalitions into one that can now focus on accomplishing the greater-good across the city with new found motivation and energy! 

Where is this leading us? October 2022 Serve Spot leaders dreamt of creating a city-wide day of service that identified and served needs that never seemed to be addressed. On September 23, 2023, less than a year later, “Love Lakewood Day” mobilized +230 volunteers to 10 different projects in the city. College students, church members, neighborhood association members…it was Lakewood’s first attempt to address the needs of the city under the leadership of Serve Spot and it was an incredible success! 

It is ambitious to envision, organize, communicate and activate hundreds of volunteers to work in 10 different service sites in a city of 155,000 in less than 1 year! Great work Serve Spot Lakewood! Lakewood Connects is proud to support this organization and the culture of volunteer “greater-good” partnership that is growing in Lakewood! We hope that this story inspires your efforts to lean into relationship building, movements of service and greater-good action where you live! Let’s do good together! 

Valentine’s Day 2023, Lakewood Connects Director, Reg Cox, spoke in chapel at Colorado Christian University (CCU). The school, located in Lakewood, has grown to over 1,500 students and is emerging as a strong liberal arts university drawing students from across the county and world. For 15 years Reg has supported the school’s campus ministry programs and community service projects and enjoys relationships with leaders, students and teachers.

But Reg’s talk this Valentine’s Day was unusual because underlying stories and illustrations that fit with the spirit of the day was a more important love invitation. In Matthew 22 Jesus issues what he calls, “The Greatest Command.” To love God and our neighbor is the essence of faith! There is no concept of “believing in Jesus” that isn’t centered directly on loving God and others. 

This Valentine’s Day chapel talk was entitled “CCU Loves Lakewood!” Reg had partnered with student leaders to invite students to love the city through acts of service! When students accept this invitation they are living out the true “heart” behind Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 22! 

In 2017, Reg worked with CCU on a dream of student government leaders to serve the city where the university exists. Reg helped the leaders design service opportunities during the 2018 spring semester for a program called “CCU 4 Lakewood.” That event involved over 50 students. CCU 4 Lakewood occurred again in 2019 but was suspended during the pandemic. This fall student government leaders again approached Reg about helping them revive CCU 4 Lakewood, and chapel this February 14th kicked off the program with student sign ups.

The Chapel talk kicked off with an invitation from Mayor Adam Paul to serve the city alongside the churches of Lakewood. The Mayor described how important partnership between Faith and Government has been and will be in our city. When all of us work together we are able to merge resources that will alleviate human suffering on a grander scale! 

During Reg’s presentation he invited students to serve beyond CCU 4 Lakewood and partner with Lakewood Connects. We will link students with local churches, faith based nonprofits and local government agencies to multiply impact. Lakewood Connects enjoys great relationships, healthy partnerships and the shared commitment to collaboration to accomplish the common good with over 50 organizations in our city. Within 24 hours of the chapel talk over 15 students had reached out to partner with Lakewood Connects to serve the city! 

Building relationships is the key to building partnerships. Building Partnerships is the key to building shared commitment for the greater good! This is at the heart of what Lakewood Connects is committed to and leading in Lakewood, Colorado and beyond. Thanks for your encouragement and support! 

If you would like to watch the 2/14 chapel at CCU in its entirety, click here or watch below.

Chapel 02-14 – Reg Cox & CCU Student Government from Colorado Christian University on Vimeo.

In 2012 a special partnership was built in an underserved and overlooked neighborhood in Lakewood, Colorado. Lakewood Church of Christ was built in 1973, the same year that Foothills Elementary School started just 2 blocks away. Over time the neighborhood filled in with over 1100 homes and 4,000 apartments. The apartments became a haven for folks who were less financially secure and their neighbors in homes gradually detached from them and the school. 

In 2012 Lakewood Church of Christ started a tutoring program at Foothills called “Whiz Kids” and it immediately yielded positive results. Tutors meet weekly with a student and support teacher advised goals and the investment has been life transforming for 100’s of students since then! But a vital part of the Whiz Kids positive impact doesn’t actually occur in the school! This special event takes place during one night every year up the hill at the church!  

The Whiz Kid Christmas Party is held yearly at Lakewood Church of Christ and includes a great meal, entertainment, gifts and a special kind of table conversation that’s a game-changer for students and families. During the meal tutors share success stories, list specific accomplishments and celebrate student achievements. You might overlook the importance of this at first…but underserved families are woefully under-equipped to facilitate this is a kind of conversation. They need actionable examples to imitate in order to be affirming to their kids. 

Social/Emotional development research tells us that it takes 6 positive statements to outweigh the impact of 1 negative one. This is exaggerated when you factor in an elementary aged student who is trying to find their way in life through the personal-worth minefield. It’s actually not hard to help someone learn to read or do math…but equipping an 8 year old with the tools they need to grow up loving themselves and feeling worthy is more important than we could possibly explain in this simple blog post!  

Imagine sitting at that Christmas dinner table with a single mom, her mom or another relative and then her 3 kids. The tutor initiates conversation and then points out some of the achievements of the Whiz Kid and tells stories illustrating how that student is progressing and growing. The tutor deflects any off hand or inappropriate responses from the adults and models over-and-over how to affirm, pursue and bless children. 

It’s astounding how simple yet profound this exercise is…yet over the years this one meal and hour of conversation has been more transformative for students and their families than almost anything else we do under the guise of “tutoring” and serving kids in the neighborhood. 

Volunteers + Tutoring = Healthier Families! It’s a simple equation that involves stepping up to be available to serve through relationship in the communities where we live. 

One of the advantages of loving coffee is the fact that most young adults love it too! So if you’re older (like Lakewood Connects Director, Reg Cox) and you hope to connect with young leaders you offer to buy their cup! Such was the set-up recently between Reg and Colorado Christian University student body vice president, Sarah. Sarah had reached out asking if Lakewood Connects could help her revitalize an event called; “CCU 4 Lakewood” (CCU4LW). Reg had helped develop this student led community service program back in 2018 and now Sarah wanted to get it going again! When you “Caffeinate” a new friendship and add a Big Dream you increase the potential for something powerful to happen!

In 2018 CCU students formed four Community Service targets in the neighborhood near campus. CCU has existed for decades, and as a community they’re committed in becoming a partner with local churches and organizations to Serve the city! In 2018 CCU4LW connected to Senior Adults, served Food in an underserved community, supported a local church’s program for Homeless Neighbors and played with students in a local Elementary School. A key focus for CCU4LW experience is that the service all takes place in neighborhoods near the university!

Here’s a Philosophy that guides Lakewood Connects: “Proximity transforms the impact potential of who, what, why and how we serve”. When you’re walking across the street to serve someone instead of driving 45 minutes or flying to another country you’re suddenly transported into “living with” those you serve. Relationship based service transforms us from custodians of compassionate action into neighbors loving our extended family. Through the power of close proximity we enter into “relationship” connections and experience something wholly different and more valuable than “one off” service. This is where life change potential exists!

This coming February 14, Lakewood Connects Director; Reg Cox will speak in chapel to kick off “CCU Loves Lakewood!” By February 2023 several things will be in action that will transform the lives of both students and community members in positive ways…and all of this started as 2 people became new friends and shared 2 cups of coffee and shared greater-good plans and dreams!

We believe that relationships change the world! Please join us in building new friendships and dreaming bigger partnership dreams in 2023!

In 2014 the Mayor of Lakewood, Colorado reached out to Lakewood Connects Director, Reg Cox with a Big Idea! For 9 years Reg had supported a network of pastors from various Christian faith communities who connected to each other monthly for prayer, support and partnership. The Mayor’s dream was to build upon this example of unity among Christian churches by expanding to invite all faith communities and form another organization, a “Faith Coalition” and connect them to the Mayor/City Manager’s office in order to forge a service partnership, so that together, Faith + Government could advance Greater-Good Projects in the city!

Dreams become Greater-Good Catalysts when they’re shared with others! In 2014 Reg was a Senior Pastor at a medium sized neighborhood church in Lakewood. He didn’t see his church or the church network as a big deal at all. He would tell you that the mayor’s invitation to partner on a big dream was exciting and a bit intimidating! This dream stretched and challenged Reg, but that’s exactly what advancing “Greater Good” initiatives are all about! You can’t do breakthrough greater-good until you’re Stretched! “Stretched” means we ask; “Can we take our Resources of Energy, Money and Time and Merge them with others in order to Exponentially do more good than we could ever accomplish all by ourselves?” We believe this spirit of collaboration and partnership is the key to improving our world and this idea is at the heart of what Lakewood Connects is furthering both here and across the country!

In 2014 the Mayor of Lakewood created the “Lakewood Linked Initiative” starting with the Faith Coalition which merged Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Latter Day Saints, Catholic and Jewish faiths as a Collaborative Community Service Force. Soon this dream expanded to include Coalitions connecting supplemental Food assistance groups and Service Clubs like the Kiwanis and Rotary in order to build Service Programming Partnerships like the Faith Coalition.

Recently, Chairmen of these three Coalitions had another Big Dream! They realized that by becoming one organization they could enhance their “Greater-Good” Impact Potential! “Serve Spot Lakewood” (SSLW) was formed merging these three Coalitions into one and is currently building a website that will tell stories, recruit volunteers and help transform the culture of the city! What started out with one Coalition has now become a larger movement that will accelerate Partnership and Greater-Good Philosophy, Programming and Power to every corner of the city!

Relationships change the world! When Greater-Good Conversations take place Dreams are born that advance Greater-Good Plans and Programs! It all starts when we talk to each other and build trusted partnerships…when this happens we can dream larger dreams and find ways to make “Impossible”…Possible! This is our hope…we pray that you join us in advancing this philosophy and dream!

Lakewood Connects uses a few inspirational sayings that summarize our core values and convictions. These mantra’s guide our focus, influence and programming. One favorite is “Progress moves at the speed of relationship.” That mantra anchors us on the fact that information and data doesn’t build trust or inspire action! The power of compassion is released when we sit down with another person over a cup of coffee! Face-to-face we can share stories, find common ground and seek a compelling vision of “what-might-be-possible” together!

Recently a tragedy impacted our community involving a fire in an apartment complex in an underserved neighborhood. In the ensuing days several government, education, nonprofit and faith groups all rallied to support and help victims. Sometimes a local tragedy reveals the gaps that exist in our community that can separate healing intentions from helping action. Although all of these sectors had resources…what they didn’t have was fresh connections with each other. Here’s a fact: when relationships are disconnected it can inhibit compassion action.

How do we create a compassion catalyst? In the neighborhood affected by the fire Lakewood Connects has been supporting local church and compassion outpost, “Mountair Christian” for over a decade. They lead many valuable projects and programs. We also work with, “Molholm Elementary” and their leaderships. The church and school have worked together for years and recently Lakewood Connects facilitated new depth in their relationship making coordination between them easier during the tragedy. When the other support organizations jumped in to serve, the church and school were ready to navigate the compassion energy strategically.

The fire caused the loss of life and displacement of over 30 families including a Molholm student and mom. The church and school aimed Lakewood Connects support to precisely fit the needs of that family immediately. Compassion requires timely, strategic and uninhibited action!

Concern + Connections = Compassion Catalyst! There is often a lot of concern for challenges in our community…but until connections are made compassion is stymied! “Relationships change the world” is not just an invitation to make friends, it’s a challenge to create the kinds of connections that remove the goodwill and healing barriers that often exist unnoticed in our culture! Just think, you are just a conversation away from becoming a partner with someone else so that together you can lead positive change in your community when tragedy strikes! Don’t wait until bad things happen! Make that compassion catalyst relationship connection today!

When we prioritize certain things in every human interaction it can make the difference between success and failure! As a boy my father coached me to look a person in the eye and give a firm handshake. Our society values fully present interaction. The way we give our attention to others, or not, transmits a message about who we are, if we can be trusted and what we think about them. This “fully present” connection happens in a blink of an eye and it is especially vital in community engagement. 

Three reasons the Art of Presence is important in Community Service

First, our presence Heals. Effective service occurs when we are present to listen first and act later. “Healing” occurs before we actually “do” anything! Everyone wants to feel seen and known. When we miss this we accidentally make people feel like a “project” instead of a person to be known. Our presence speaks value.

Second, being present helps us to see the problem behind the problem. The reason people face challenges is hard to see. If we perceive the problem behind the problem we can unlock multiple solutions all at once and empower them to rise above an endless cycle of reoccurring barriers to thriving. 

Finally, being fully present defuses static stress. People know they have options and resources to get through challenges but their motivation gets drained by relentless fear and anxiety. Human to human connection refuels folks with enough hope to trust, refocus and rise above the “want-to-try” drain.   

For two years our educators have faced anxious parents, masked and remote students, and a culture war that raged on as they, their students, colleagues and families got sick, were hospitalized, and died. What a great time to be present and bring hope to our educators! 

Recently Lakewood Connects linked a local branch of a national financial firm; Thrivent, to a teacher affirmation event at an underserved school. These business leaders left their office to greet teachers in the school lounge and serve a catered lunch for over 2 hours! Teachers were encouraged, yes… but the key here was the fact that business leaders were present! They went the extra-mile to sit with educators and connect to them personally. “Feeling valued” happens when “service” moves to feeding a person’s heart and soul with real connection and love!  

Lakewood Connects is building a model for school staff affirmation in Lakewood that includes assembling local “teams” from service clubs, churches, businesses and neighborhood association leaders who will continue being fully present into the future with their local school. If you would like more info on this kind of work please contact us at Lakewood Connects! Let’s do good together! 

The past two years have emptied our country of goodwill, civility and energy to face the rigors of our fast paced anxiety laden society. “Empty” is an especially dangerous condition for certain leaders in our community like emergency personnel, medical workers, law enforcement and teachers. We’re all tired and stressed but these four sectors of society are functioning beyond their limits! When they break down or quit they exponentially affect tens of thousands of people. It’s time to fill up their appreciation cups! 

Lakewood Connects is inspired by a vision statement that states: “Collaboration reduces suffering!” That statement suggests that when business, government, community and faith work together we create exponential positive impact. This vision has led us to find “needs” then create partnerships that execute focused service programs in our community. In 2022 a need we discovered was encouraging educators! 

Mid-March, Lakewood Connects partnered with a local business owner, Brandi Koskie, and a financial management company, Thrivent, with an aim to encourage the staff at Creighton Middle School. Brandi’s daughter attends Creighton and she noticed a lack of teacher appreciation activities there. Upon investigation she discovered that the staff there had not experienced community love in over two years! This is unacceptable! We may not be able to give these teachers more money or a less challenging classroom but we can sure find ways to show them love!

Brandi and Lakewood Connects Director, Reg Cox, met with the Thrivent staff and drafted a plan of action that included bringing a top notch BBQ lunch to the school, served up with personal praise from community members who cheered on staff as they entered the lounge and joined them for conversation during lunch. Anyone can drop off food… but true appreciation is delivered in person! 

A special note here for anyone interested in imitating this work… the Thrivent team stayed in the  lounge that day for 2 ½ hours talking to teachers. They carefully gauged how much presence was appropriate and shared meaningful messages of appreciation with each person who walked in the room. Of course, it’s easier to feel affirmed when you get top quality BBQ! That’s a fact!

Since March Lakewood Connects has partnered with churches, Thrivent Financial/Lakewood and other groups to set up appreciation events in other schools and more are planned! Our community thrives on appreciation, love and goodwill…join us! If you would like info on how to support a local school or how to join us in an upcoming appreciation event, contact us! Let’s do good together!

…Build Hubs at schools that create thriving for families in need. Bernadette Marquez – Family Engagement Liaison at Foothills Elementary: “Schools like mine that support students, families and our neighborhood through the Hub, an onsite pantry of food, clothing and support that helps our community make it through rough patches in the road of life.”

…Surround an underserved school with community support. Laurie McKibben – Dean at Foothills Elementary School. “Helping an “underserved school” transform into an “Abundantly served” school! There are lots of ways the community can support a school like mine volunteering with PTA, Watch Dog’s, Tutoring and many other ways! When my school is thriving so is the entire neighborhood!”

…Help single moms navigate life to move from surviving to thriving. J, a single mom in Lakewood: “Single mothers like me as we work through the system of applications. Thanks for helping me move from surviving to thriving!”

…Mentor students to reach their full potential. Minka, A 5^th Grade student at Foothills Elementary: “Students like me who are getting great tutoring help after school! Whiz Kids is great! I love my tutor Ms. Debbie!”

…Build hope in pastors and churches so they create hope in communities. Rev. Ruben Rodriguez, Mountain Christian Church, Lakewood, Colorado: “Creating a thriving church begins with a thriving pastor and leadership team. Pastor’s benefit from friendship, connection with other pastors…thanks for supporting seasoned faith leader who support our work!” 

Local Friends: If you want to sign up for one of our Coffee Chats to learn more about Lakewood Connects and discover how you can serve your community, send us a private message. We’re looking forward to meeting and DOING GOOD TOGETHER in Lakewood!