Elyse VanBuren’s foray into theater began after seeing “Little Shop of Horrors” at her cousin’s high school in Rifle, Colorado. The experience led her to join Montezuma-Cortez Middle School’s spring performance, where she was cast as a set designer. Since then, VanBuren has been ever-present behind the curtains. She now leads the drama department tech team and represents technicians on the local Thespian Troupe board at Montezuma-Cortez High School.

In 2024, VanBuren was preparing for Montezuma-Cortez High School’s fall and spring performances. She queried her fellow thespian board members and the usual problems came up: microphone feedback, aging lights, and a shortage of set and costume supplies. The drama department’s table saw had recently broken, too. Always looking to improve, VanBuren saw an opportunity. With the encouragement of the school’s former theater director, she reached out to Crowley to share her ideas for the drama department and the school’s auditorium. Although she had “no idea what went into a grant or what you needed to do for a grant,” Crowley walked her through LOR’s easy and quick process, and money was on its way in 11 days.

LOR’s funding helped VanBuren and the drama department purchase LED lighting, updated microphones, and other supplies like lumber, tools, and fabric. The upgrades are already helping Montezuma-Cortez High School put on professional shows, while transforming the auditorium into Cortez’s premier performing arts space. VanBuren hopes that her project can provide more opportunities for students to explore both theater and tech. She also wants to lead by example, encouraging other youth to explore all that’s available to them in Cortez. “They can do this,” she says. “They can reach out for more opportunities.”

Like most fifth graders, Kole Dimon likes to play video games and sports: football, basketball, soccer, and golf. At Kemper Elementary, it was soccer that posed the problem. Every recess students would organize games, using the playground fence as a makeshift goal. Inevitably, a ball would sail and end up in a surrounding yard. At first, a neighbor threw the balls back. But the balls just kept coming, so they stopped. With each new loss, a student would bring their ball from home and the dilemma would repeat itself.

As Kemper’s student council treasurer, Dimon was already accustomed to responsibility and leadership; he helped oversee the school’s daily announcements and put on the student council’s annual Valentine’s Day fundraiser. When two teachers mentioned the LOR Foundation, Dimon saw the potential. “They told us, ‘If you guys want soccer goals, there’s the LOR Foundation. They’re a team that helps schools out,’” he says. Dimon and his fellow student council members had a question: “Could we go talk to them?” With the help of the teachers and Dimon’s mother, Rosa, Dimon set up a meeting with Crowley and explained the situation and the potential solution. After getting the thumbs up from Kemper’s principal and the maintenance department, Dimon and Kemper Elementary’s parent-teacher organization purchased two sets of goals, a storage shed, and 72 new soccer balls with LOR’s funding.

Throughout the process, Dimon received a hand from those around him. Rosa helped Dimon prepare his proposal for the meeting with Crowley. And Kemper’s teachers gave Dimon time during recess to work on the project and other student council initiatives. When asked what parents and teachers could do to help more kids make an impact, Dimon has a quick answer: “Supporting them in whatever they really want to do.”

Growing up, Megan Schmalz was surrounded by community. On the one side was band, where her oldest brother and mother were involved. On the other was the Girl Scouts, again following in her family’s footsteps. Joining both, Schmalz knew she had found her place. She knew where she belonged.

But wrapping up her senior year at Montezuma-Cortez High School, Schmalz was troubled by the issue of belonging. As a four-year trumpet player, she was used to the annual cycle of fall and spring concerts and the search for attire that accompanied each performance. For affluent families, it was never a problem—just buy a dress or suit. But for other families like Schmalz’s, the solution was usually a black t-shirt or whatever “nice attire” they could afford. At times, the band looked more like two units: one with means and one without.

As Schmalz was preparing for her Girl Scout Gold Award, she came across the project of another young woman from Colorado Springs who had created a “lending closet” for her choir. It sparked an idea for Schmalz, who approached Montezuma-Cortez High School’s band director with a pitch: standard, professional uniforms for everyone. Working with Crowley and the school’s band and choir directors, Schmalz secured funding from LOR to buy 71 dresses and 51 tuxedos through a local shop. Band and choir students can now borrow the uniforms for free for every performance. “It can be hard to come up with the income and finances to be able to participate in all of these different programs and activities,” Schmalz says. “It does make a difference to be able to just have something that the school is able to provide to you.”

Although Schmalz had the vision, she herself never stood to benefit; for much of the project, she was a freshman at Colorado Mountain College. She just wanted to give back to the band that was like a family to her. Schmalz sees many other young people who want to do their part like her. The key is helping more of them find or create a place where they belong, she says. If communities like Cortez can do that, they’ll unlock a vast potential. “There’s definitely plenty of students that have that want and passion,” she says.

Photography and videography by Matthew Tangeman.