Our Impact

Over the years, Lake County Build a Generation has brought community members and community agencies together to accomplish many shared community goals, among them:

  • launching the Lake County Community Fund, in order to improve the sustainability of local nonprofit organizations
  • remodeling both the Lake County Intermediate School and West Park Elementary School playgrounds and opening them to the public
  • developing the Lake County High School Precollegiate Program to ensure all Lake County High School students have access to college and career support
  • installing infrastructure (including signage and pedestrian-activated beacons) to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety near schools, residential communities, and recreation sites
  • creating the Get Outdoors Leadville! project in order to better connect youth and families to the outdoors
  • working with CU Denver School of Planning graduate students to create a site master plan and conceptual design for an affordable housing project in Lake County
  • initiating the Lake County Foodhealth Program to support families in their goals to eat more fruits and vegetables
  • coordinating the successful 2019 Lake County application to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health award

To learn more about our recent accomplishments, read our Impact Reports, which are published every two years.

2015-16 Impact Report

2017-18 Impact Report

Case Study — Get Outdoors Leadville!

In 2016, Lake County Build a Generation facilitated the creation of Get Outdoors Leadville! (GOL!), a project to help youth and families connect with the great outdoors. Over a nearly two-year planning phase, Lake County Build a Generation:

  • Hired and trained youth and community researchers to assess the community’s needs and identify barriers to connecting with nature;
  • Convened a coalition of more than 70 community members with representatives from approximately 30 agencies. This coalition reviewed the community research in order to identify and prioritize initiatives to improve access to outdoor recreation;
  • Raised more than $750,000 in local matching funds
  • Facilitated the creation of the final grant proposal to Great Outdoors Colorado–which led to a $3M award, the highest in the state

Since its inception, Get Outdoors Leadville! has increased the average time a Lake County youth spends in nature by an hour a week.

Colin McFee and students in the Lake County High School fly fishing class. Photo courtesy of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Copyright 2019 Annabel Clark.