Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center is celebrating the start of our second full year of operation, all in support of our Center and related parks and recreation activities. We are incredibly grateful to the many Gilpinites who came out this past year to the reopened Center. You’ve participated in exercise classes, youth sports, the Fair, the Hallowe’en activities, and the Winter Arts Festival, and much more.

Our group has been busy supporting the Center and its outreach. We’ve also been proud to partner with United Power to provide activities and refreshments for several events. We look forward to doing more for our Center in 2022.

The Heart of the Community Fund

We are pleased to announce the opening of our “Heart of the Community Fund”, aimed at supporting residents who need financial help to participate in Community Center activities. This fund is made possible with support from the Alan Green Memorial Foundation, the Gilpin County Commissioners, and donations from individual neighbors.

The fund currently offers the following benefits to qualifying applicants:

10-punch cards for families or individuals. Each punch gives a member of your family or an individual user access to Community Center facilities. Users can enjoy swimming, Family Gym for parents and pre-school children, indoor walking track, exercise facilities, and more.

A punch card will not expire. It will be used each time a family member or individual user enters the Community Center. It can be used by any family member (related individuals) living together in a Gilpin residence. The card may not be transferred to another facility.

We will also provide funds for youth who need help to cover fees and/or equipment for Taekwondo and youth sports (basketball, soccer, baseball).

To qualify:

• applicants/recipients must be

Gilpin County residents; • applicant does not have to be using Human Services, just express need on the application; • applicant is requested to make a contribution toward the cost but it is not required; • there is no limit to the number of times per year an applicant may receive a benefit; • the board will consider at their discretion depending on number of applicants and funds available.

The FGCCC board may change benefits offered at any time, and decisions on applications will be made by a vote of the Board of FGCCC. We will accept applications throughout the y ear, and will consider each applicant on a “funds available” basis.

We will try to cover as many requests as we can, but cannot guarantee all applications will be funded. All applications will be kept strictly confidential.

For complete information about the fund, qualifications, and an application form, visit the “Heart of the Community” fund page on our website.

Your Donations Welcome!

If you wish to support the work of Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center and, in particular, the Heart of the Community Fund, please visit our website and click on the Donate button.

If you are an Amazon customer, you can designate Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center as a recipient of their “SMILE” program. For each purchase you make through the program, Amazon makes a donation to us. It costs you nothing extra to take advantage of their generosity.

We also sell FGCCC swag such as sportswear, mugs, and caps, through our website. Just click on the “Get Swag” button on our Web

Senior Access to the Community Center

Are you a senior Gilpinite with a Medicare Advantage plan, you probably know about Silver Sneakers, Renew Active, or Silver & Fit fitness programs. Did you know you can use them to get free access to the Community Center?

In 2021, we worked with the Center staff to get these programs in place for seniors who wish to exercise, go swimming, play pickleball, and take AquaFit classes. This insurance benefit covers daily admission, but does not include contract classes. Please contact the Center at 303.582.1453 for more information about these programs and how you can use them.

Safety First at the Center

Out of an excess of caution due to the rise in COVID cases throughout the county, the Center’s planned “New Year, New You” Health Fair activity, originally scheduled for Saturday, January 15th has been postponed indefinitely. The Center plans to announce a rescheduled date soon.

As successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to ripple through our communities, it’s a good time to remind everyone that safety comes first when out in public. This is especially true for our Community Center. It remains open and available, but they ask everyone to please take sensible precautions when using the facilities.

Gilpin County maintains a mask mandate for all public indoor spaces in the county, including the Center. All staff and guests are required to wear a mask in the Center, regardless of vaccine status. Exceptions: guests and staff while in the pool area, vaccinated guests that are stationary and maintaining 6 feet of social distance or alone in an area, and when guests are eating. If you have questions about this, please contact one of the staffers directly. The County maintains the most current orders on the Gilpin County website.