To think two years had passed since our last Day of Caring, yet our community did not miss a beat. This year was Routt County United Way’s 23rd annual Day of Caring, which brought together 261 individuals and 22 organizations for one powerful day of impact. We had 33 Routt County agencies organize 36 projects that saved $19,784 in labor costs to individuals and organizations in need from North Routt to Hayden, South Routt and across Steamboat Springs.

We had a lot to celebrate during our appreciation reception at Howelsen Hill (thank you, Gary Suiter, city manager of Steamboat Springs, for hosting us), including three individuals nominated by local agencies for outstanding volunteer service as our Volunteers of the Year.

Our first 2021 Volunteer of the Year is Reall Regan, mentor with Partners in Routt County. Reall has been matched with her mentee since July 2014. She has consistently shown up emotionally, physically and mentally for her mentee. After being matched for nearly seven years, they both still make time for each other.

Our second 2021 Volunteer of the Year is Monica Niedermeier, a volunteer at Soda Creek Elementary School. Monica has volunteered with the school for many years and regularly works with Spanish-speaking students, helping them learn literacy skills in both their native language and in English. In the past year, Monica is recognized for going above and beyond by meeting with students virtually multiple times per week to help them with online work.

To wrap up our 2021 Volunteers of the Year, Routt County United Way recognized board member Debra Sauermann, who has been alongside the organization since 2013. Debra has long ties to the community, living in Routt County for decades. Through Debra’s involvement, United Way has strengthened our donor outreach and community investment. Debra has been a member of our board since 2019.

Thank you to our three Volunteers of the Year, our agencies and 261 volunteers for being the heart and hands of Day of Caring. And thank you to our sponsors, Bank of the San Juans, Steamboat Springs Ski Town Lions Club, the city of Steamboat Springs and Steamboat Radio for making the day possible. We can’t wait to see you again next year.

Kate Nowak

Routt County United Way executive director