Mancos Valley Resources

Montezuma Youth Alliance involved at risk youth in the following activities: Take 6 high school and middle school students to the Purgatory SOS program; provide a safe place for youth to be in the evenings (Teen Night); Take two youth ambassadors to a Tony Grampsas conference; provide Reading Buddies in collaboration with MPL and offer a Reading Buddies extension to include youth from 9 to 17 years old;execute a strategic planning meeting with SC; and provided a successful Skate Night series from May to November. In 2024, these efforts were able to reach about 60 youth with the help of 7 volunteers providing 150 volunteer hours. Montezuma Youth Alliance has seprated from MVR into its own organization.

Mancos Food Share provides a weekly community pantry. Cooking classes are offered to anyone interested and they also manage a seed share and plant swap. In 2024, an estimated 160 people were helped by 10 volunteers donating over 350 hours.

Mt Lookout Grange #338 (MLG) rents its building out for community events and, in cooperation with Mancos Food Share, provides community dinners and fund raising events. In 2024, about 1,000 volunteers provided approximately 1,000 hours of service to help over 1,000 individuals.

Mancos Trails Group works to maintain 47 miles of trails at the Aqueduct, Chicken Creek and Mancos Spur trail heads. Also coordinated with US Forest Service to complete trail maintenance evaluation. An estimated 42,274 residents of Mancos and visitors benefit from these projects. There were 73 volunteers that provided about 1,461 hours of service.

Pay It Forward Fund uses donated funds to assist residents in the 81328 zip code area with rent, utilities, food and non-medical bills. 16 families were helped in 2024. About 50 hours were donated by 2 volunteers.

MVR is a community based umbrella organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the unique agricultural, charitable, cultural, educational, historical, and recreational assets of the Mancos Valley. 16 projects and organizations were helped in 2024. MVR also provided eight scholarships to residents of Mancos Valley to further their education.

Mancos Valley Chorus presented free concerts in Montezuma County including concerts at 'The Valley Inn' retirement home, Mancos Elementary School and for the general public at the Methodist Church in Mancos as well as in Cortez. 50 volunteer members provided over 1,000 hours for services to well over 1,000 attendees in 2024.

Mancos Giving Tree provides holiday gifts, meals and energy vouchers to families in the Mancos area at Christmas time. A dinner was also provided for 58 people. In 2024, about 159 individuals were offered assistance by about 2 volunteers who donated about 75 hours of service.

Mancos Valley Farmers Market provides a venue at Boyle Park in Mancos for local growers to market and sell there produce to local residents during the summer months. In 2024, an estimated 2,550 customers took advantage of the market. Over 100 volunteer hours were donated by 3 volunteers.

Armida Huerta Adventure Fund Scholarships ran on pack-rafting course in the summer of 2024 and held a fund-raiser in October. Six volunteers provided about 110 hours of volunteer work serving 4 individuals.

Mancos United provided an all day, summer day camp, Monday through Thursday for six week during 2024. They also provided basic needs assistance to families in need. Such assistance included electric bills, transportation costs, air conditioning, tutoring and learning opportunities. The also launched an effort to conduct a feasibility study for a new 'Mancos Valley Community Hub. 11 volunteers donated about 2,000 hours to help approximately 200 local residence in 2024. Mancos United is no longer assiciated with MVR as of 12/31/2024.

Mancos Gear Share acquired donations of gear and secured a grant to be able to established a fully stocked gear library. They developed a functioning website with an inventory and registration process. In 2024, approximately 100 individuals utilized the library exchange with the help of 2 volunteers.

Turning Wild hosted a youth woodworking education class and a youth metalworking project to leverage creativity to enhance relationships. In 2024, five volunteers spent about 100 hours teaching classes to approximately 40 youth.

Friends of Chicken Creek Cross Country Ski Corp provided over 15 kilometers of groomed trails for Nordic skiing, skate skiing and snowshoeing on a safe ground surface in the San Juan National Forest. About 400 hours were donated by 102 volunteers in 2024, and about 600 people used the ski runs.

Martin Luther King Jr Breakfast is an annual free community pancake breakfast to honor Martin Luther King, Jr's on his birthday. The Breakfast is self-sustaining and has been provided for 16 years. In 2024, 21 volunteers donated about 100 hours to serve 125 individuals.

Painted Turtle Studio was able to increase class offering, fill classes and gain more visibility for local artists. There was about 2800 hours donated by 12 volunteers serving about 2,500 individuals in 2024.