Spring is in the air!  Read on to learn about new things happening in the City's Volunteer Services Program

We believe that volunteers aren't just "nice to have", they play a critical role in service delivery across the City. In 2025 alone, over 6000 residents volunteered for City programs, donating 132,712 hours! This is has an economic impact of $4.6 million annually! Volunteers help us keep City programs affordable, accessible and fun! Did you know that all of the coaches for Youth Sports are volunteers? These coaches donated over 15,000 hours in 2025. Volunteers also dedicate time to our Parks, Natural Areas and cultural facilities like the Lincoln Center and Gardens on Spring Creek. Next time you visit a City facility or program, ask if the people you interact with are volunteers, and then thank them for the value they bring to our City. Interested in learning how you can join a fun and inspiring group of change makers? Visit our Get Involved Page today! 

NextGenServe is a City volunteer service club for teens ages 13 to 18. The program builds leadership skills and helps teens serve the Fort Collins community. Teens explore different career paths while working with trained staff in areas such as Parks, Natural Areas, the Gardens on Spring Creek and local nonprofits. We are currently accepting applications, but time is running out! Deadline to apply has been extended to March 6! 

Volunteer Services would like to welcome Jeff Meade as our new Youth Engagement Coordinator. Jeff is an educator. Passionate and curious, Jeff sees the world as an amazing learning playground. Science, history, culture- all of it fascinates him!

 Jeff is originally from Boulder, but spent ten years living in Washington D.C. where he worked as a museum educator in the Smithsonian Museums. From there he ended up teaching (mostly middle school) in international schools across Africa. His wife joined USAID as a foreign service officer, so his family served as diplomats in South Africa, Senegal and Uganda. He is excited to see snow again now that he's back in Colorado, but he's sad that his daily routine does not include shoo'ing vervet monkeys out of his classroom!

 Jeff is a creative person and enjoys spending his free time writing shorts stories and poetry. He also enjoys watching his 7th grade daughter perform theater and riding bicycles with his 3rd grade daughter. Being new to Fort Collins is exciting  and he looks forward to exploring the city.

Conflict Transformation Works is excited to share a new training offering that debuts for the first ever this Spring! Our Restorative Community Mediation trainings (short workshop or 40-hour certificate with volunteering) eliminates a socio-economic barrier to volunteering and empowers community-minded folks to learn conflict resilient skills and give back locally. We want our City to be an inclusive, accessible community where conflicts are resolved early and often and neighbors have the skills to support each other through hard conversations. We are honored to give this gift of learning.    

 Things to know about these trainings:

1. 100% in person in Fort Collins, CO; 100% participation expected; no make-ups
2. People who complete the 40-hour training are expected to volunteer in our Community Mediation program
3. If you are interested: contact Dana Stewart via call/text at (970) 657-5298 or email dstewart@fortcollins.gov