IN NEED

FROM PAGE 12 and joined the local work group there. e importance of the nonpro t’s work resonated with Williams after an interaction she had with a stranger a number of years ago, she said. e woman asked her what she was buying the materials for, to which Williams began to explain Warm Hearts Warm Babies.

“I was still up in Aurora, out buying onesies and things for our (goodie) bags so that we could deliver onesies and diapers and things, and a lady was standing behind me at the cash register,” Williams said.

“And she stopped me and she said, ‘ en, I need to thank you, because my daughter just had a baby at the hospital and it was wintertime and … we had nothing to bring that baby home in. And I told the nurses and they brought us one of your bags,’” Williams said.

“And so that keeps me going,” she continued. “I think about that and that keeps me going and seeing how important it is, the work we do.”

Fostering community

Materials for making items and assembling the layettes are stored in the nonpro t’s building, based in Arvada, which is nicknamed “ e Baby House.”

Among the volunteers who gathered at the building that Friday was Glenda Bredeson, an Arvada resident who has been a part of the organization since 1999.

Over time, the nonpro t has gradually grown and expanded in di erent areas of Colorado, said Bredeson, vice president of the nonpro t’s board.

Volunteering for the nonpro t has become a family a air, as Bredeson’s 18-year-old granddaughter, Eleanor Morris, worked alongside Bredeson in e Baby House.

“I remember volunteering here when I was a little girl,” Morris said, explaining she and her cousins would help assemble goodie bags. “I’ve always loved it.”

Since then, she began crocheting and knitting items to donate.

“She was thrilled when she made her rst two baby hats and brought them in,” Bredeson said.

Although Morris lives in Virginia, she visits when she can and also plans to still create items to donate and ship them to the nonpro t.

“I was so excited just to be here and volunteer because I grew up always coming here. Every time I visited, I would be here, and it was just amazing,” she said.

One of Bredeson’s favorite parts of the nonpro t is the people. Vickie Lutz, an Arvada resident who began volunteering for the organization in 2020, agreed and said that’s true for most of the volunteers.

Lutz said the nonpro t has incredibly talented volunteers. She showed o intricate blankets, toys and clothing items in e Baby House that volunteers spent hours creating.

Challenges and goals e talent of the volunteers isn’t just for making impressive items, though e need for more younger volunteers is a challenge the nonpro t faces.

— it can also be applied toward teaching younger people the craft.

“Eleanor came to us. She didn’t know how to knit or crochet, and now she’s phenomenal at it. ere are so many people here that are willing to teach,” Lutz said.

“We’re all older, and it’s just not going to be sustainable if we don’t get young people,” Lutz said.

Powis said the organization also needs more volunteers who will sew.

“ e last couple of months, unfortunately, we’ve had to cut back. We’ve had to cut back on the clothes,” Powis said. “We were sending out two out ts. Now it’s down to one.”

Before COVID-19, the nonpro t was able to have a backup supply of clothing, she said. Now, the organization is scraping by, month by month, due to losing a lot of active members.

On top of the need for volunteers, there are also nancial pressures.

“Our donations have gone down drastically over the last couple of years,” Powis said. “And again, our volunteers and the items coming in have really gone down — but the need is still the same — more, more.” e main goal she has for this year is getting enough donations of money and items to continue the nonpro t’s work.

To help raise funds to pay for costs such as rent, volunteers will create items to sell at various craft shows. e nonpro t is also one of the charities that people can select as part of the King Soopers Community Rewards program.

As the grant coordinator, Williams plans to work this year on nding new areas to get donations and support, she said. She noted that Sue Lee, cofounder of the nonpro t Sock It To ‘Em Sock Campaign, has helped by not only donating socks to Warm Hearts Warm Babies but also in providing connections to other people. e nonpro t creates 125 to 150 layettes every month, Powis said.

“ ere are other organizations out there that would love to have us help them, but at this point, we can’t go out and look for more agencies. But I know they’re there — I know there’s more mamas that could use the help,” she said. “I would (like) not only to be able to help who we have, but also for it to grow and help more.” ere are a variety of ways that community members can support Warm Hearts Warm Babies, Williams explained.

“Even if people don’t sew or … they don’t crochet, but they can help in, you know, at e Baby House or they can help in collecting donations for us — do a donation drive for us in their schools or their churches — to help us so that we can continue to help these mothers and babies and give them a good start in life,” Williams said.

Powis encouraged people to reach out to the nonpro t and come visit them. ose interested in learning more about Warm Hearts Warm Babies can visit warmheartswarmbabies. org. “We’re a world that needs to be more interactive with each other,” Powis said, emphasizing the importance of volunteering. “It’s so good for your soul.”

In southwestern Colorado, the combined San Miguel-DoloresAnimas-San Juan basin blasted past its historical median this season, reporting the highest snowpack in the state at about 180%. e basin typically peaks April 2 with a snowwater equivalent of 18.1 inches. is year, the basin reported 31.5 inches, which is half an inch lower than the maximum recorded between 1987 and 2022.

“In the modern SNOTEL observation era, we’re right on the doorstep of a record,” Goble said. “I’m not sure if we’re going to get there … but we’re going to get darn close to a new, modern era snowpack record in the San Juan combined basin.” e region has been hit hard by the drought in recent years, and water o cials, farmers, ranchers and other water users are enthusiastic about the deep snowpack.

For Ken Curtis, general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy Dis- trict, the plentiful snowpack means that the local reservoir will ll, and the district is even starting to plan a managed release for rafters and ecological purposes, he said.

Montezuma County emergency manager Jim Spratlen said the high snowpack could also mean ooding as rivers swell in May and June. Spratlen’s team was already updating emergency planning resources online and handing out sandbags to people in the towns of Dolores and Mancos in early April as a precautionary measure.

“Basically, we prepare for everything,” he said. “We prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

As of April 6, projections from the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center indicated that three areas of the Western Slope, in Mo att, Routt and Gunnison counties, are already more than 50% likely to see ooding. Higher, northern elevations are still seeing new snow, and spring runo is weeks away; however, emergency managers in those areas are also preparing for the spring runo . ey’re taking precautionary steps, like clearing ditches and culverts, holding planning meetings, running high-water public service announcements and monitoring ow-rates and areas prone to ooding. ey’re also watching weather forecasts for signs of prolonged warming, higher nighttime temperatures and duston-snow events, all of which can speed melting. e Gunnison County snowpack was well above average according to SNOTEL data, said Scott Morrill, the county’s emergency manager.

“What the Snotel data does not re ect is the mid and low elevation snow levels/water content,” he said in an email to e Colorado Sun.

“As of a couple weeks ago, readings at all of the low/mid elevation sites were very high, with some of them at historic highs.” e Gunnison and Yampa-White basins were at 161% and 146% of their historical medians, respectively, as of Wednesday. Both will pass their usual seasonal peaks this weekend. e Colorado main stem, which was 132% of its historical median Wednesday, usually peaks around April 14.

In Routt County, particularly north of Steamboat Springs, conditions are similar to 2011 which was a big ood year, said David DeMorat, emergency operations director.

“It all depends on how quickly it melts. at’ll be a key thing,” he said.

Before the spring runo heightens in coming weeks, the key for community members is to contact their local emergency management o ces and sign up for their alert systems, Spratlen said.

“To us, that is one of the biggest things that the public really needs to do, and then they will be noti ed if something’s going on,” he said. “ ey’re going to be very aware of it, whether it’s a law enforcement issue, a ood, a re evacuation, or whatever.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.