Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado Launches Digital Badge Program
Alex Schupp • July 15, 2014
VOC Volunteer Leader: Paul Smith
VOC highlights different VOC leaders, in all capacities, so that we can share with you the inspiring work they do to care for Colorado's outdoors! Here, we'd like to recognize Paul Smith.
Paul began volunteering with VOC in 1998 at an urban gardening project on Mt. Goliath, a mountain peak section of the Mount Evans area. Over the years, he has served as a Crew Leader, OSI Instructor, and Tool Manager on several VOC projects. His long-time career in facilities management has given him design and construction experience from the ground up, which nicely transfers to his hands-on work with VOC. In addition to volunteering for VOC, Paul is also active with other environmental stewardship organizations, including the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Colorado State Parks (mostnotably Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs), and the Colorado Trail Foundation.
"I believe that people who live in a community should participate in a community. It's a civic duty, and volunteering is a great way to fulfill that duty," says Paul. A Coloradan since 1972, Paul enjoys the year-round recreation opportunities that the Rocky Mountains provide. "I like to play outside like everyone else. VOC's mission about motivating and enabling people to care for Colorado's natural resources really resonated with me, and is the main reason I decided to start volunteering."
Learn more about volunteer leadership with VOC.
Grossman Scholar Kace reflects on their path in conservation biology and how VOC’s scholarship is helping them pursue hands-on research and fieldwork at CSU.
After three meaningful decades, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) will be saying goodbye to our longtime home at the Dos Chappell Bathhouse in Denver's beloved Washington Park. In the early 1990s, VOC signed a 30-year lease with the City of Denver to transform the historic bathhouse in Washington Park into a headquarters that could support our growing mission. With generous support from our community, we launched a capital campaign and raised $700,000 to complete the initial renovations, which were finalized in 1996. Altogether, including the original renovations, VOC has invested more than $1 million in improvements and ongoing maintenance, creating a space that is enjoyed by our staff, volunteers, and the broader Washington Park community. In 2000, the building was renamed in honor of Dos Chappell, VOC’s former Executive Director (1988–1999), whose vision and leadership left a lasting legacy on our organization and Colorado’s outdoor stewardship movement. This space has been more than just an office—it’s been a gathering place, a launchpad for thousands of volunteers, and a visible symbol of our commitment to caring for Colorado.
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