After transitioning from their previous partnership with the Longmont Library, St. Vrain Valley Storytellers, or SVVS, found a new home with a $1,000 donation to Intercambio, an organization dedicated to serving the immigrant community through education and community building.
The partnership between Intercambio began with connections to several SVVS members who also volunteered at Intercambio. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SVVS held virtual meetings on Zoom, but as they began to search for a new in-person meeting space, Intercambio emerged as the perfect fit.
Jeff Mayer, president of SVVS, said they successfully established themselves as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit after the library decided to cut ties. As an all-volunteer organization, they moved away from asking for membership dues and instead sought donations, which has proven successful. They have also received grants from the Longmont Community Foundation, enabling them to meet their financial needs.
"The mission of Intercambio ties in with our mission,” Mayer said. “They serve the immigrant community in terms of education, and we serve St. Vrain Valley Schools by creating connections between seniors and children. In both cases, it's about community building."
SVVS has offered to provide storytellers for Intercambio's training sessions and social gatherings, while Intercambio continues to provide meeting spaces for SVVS's training and board meetings. Although, SVVS now also holds its primary meetings at CENTRALongmont Presbyterian Church, the partnership with Intercambio remains strong.
"I think the more collaboration you can get, the better. Viewing it as competition is foolish. By working together, you can increase your assets, find ways to support each other and enhance your visibility in the community. When volunteer groups reach out to each other, they raise awareness about their respective organizations and missions," Mayer said.
Having a consistent and well-equipped space for training is vital for the successful onboarding of new volunteer storytellers. The training sessions for new members are led by a presentation that includes video and audio components. Therefore, it's essential for the training space to have the necessary audiovisual equipment to effectively display the presentation.
SVVS is dedicated to connecting seniors with students in the St. Vrain Valley School District through the magic of storytelling. However, their reach has also expanded its storytelling efforts to four different senior living facilities, Sandstone Ranch and the YMCA in Longmont.
Intercambio's mission is to connect communities and ultimately change lives by offering in-person and online English classes, citizenship courses and fostering mutual learning between volunteer teachers and students.
Although their partnership has primarily centered around sharing facilities, John Lopez, the CEO of Intercambio, also expressed interest in exploring new ways the organizations can collaborate to benefit the community.
"We support each other's efforts, and this is one of those ways," Lopez said. "We strongly believe in the connection, the importance of being connected and supporting each other."
Intercambio has partnerships with various other organizations such as the State Advisory Council for Parent Involvement in Education, Thrive and Front Range Community College.
"We strongly believe in the importance of connecting and supporting each other, the partnership that we aim towards,” said Norma Fuentes, director of the Boulder County program at Intercambio. “That collaboration and the partnership, it's something that I see as very unique to Longmont.”
