VOLUNTEER PROFILE SPRING WISH LIST VOLUNTEER PROFILE: CLARA PATT BY ELISABETH MONAGHAN Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., or by appointment. PHOTO COURTESY OF CLARA PATT TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH, the VOICE has used the April issue to spotlight those whose help has allowed us to better meet the needs of our community. This year is no exception. As we began to see more new immigrants in the community sign up to be Denver VOICE vendors, Executive Director James Kay and Program Coordinator Connie Gaitan put the call out for volunteers to help with translating our marketing materials into Spanish. When she received a volunteer application from Clara Patt, Gaitan asked if she could help us track down Spanish speakers who could dub over our existing orientation videos. Patt who speaks a little Spanish but is not fluent, reached out to friends with whom she grew up while living on the border between Texas and Mexico. Three weeks later, Patt sent Gaitan the links to the fully translated videos that included the voices of five volunteers. Describing what the project has meant to her, Patt explained that it was important to her to do something to give back to the unhoused individuals who were her neighbors while she and her husband lived in Colorado. “For the past two and a half years, we’ve been living out of our RV by choice,” said Patt, who lost her job shortly after arriving in Colorado. According to Patt, her husband’s income as a roofer made it possible for them to get by financially until he was injured on the job. “I was at such a low point then, but our unhoused neighbors were so good to me and so consistently nice that I wanted to repay their kindness.” When she first learned about the Denver VOICE from vendor Rea Brown, Patt said she wanted to volunteer her services as a professional graphic designer or any other skills she could offer. “It was a few weeks after I sent in my application that Connie reached out to see if I could help with translating the VOICE’s program marketing materials into Spanish,” said Patt. To create a transcript for each of the videos, Patt first used a translation website. Next, she contacted several of her bilingual friends to record the Spanish voiceovers. According to Patt, it took about two hours per volunteer to record their parts for the video, while she spent about 10 hours overseeing the project and editing the videos. By the time the first new immigrants signed up to be Denver VOICE vendors, the two orientation videos and promotional materials for the vending program had been RICKY LLAMAS SAM LLAMAS SERGIO NUNEZ April 2024 DENVER VOICE 5 PHOTO COURTESY OF CLARA PATT translated into Spanish. When the first vendors who spoke Spanish as their first language signed up for the vendor program, Gaitan expressed her gratitude for Patt and her crew of fellow volunteers. “Being able to sign up Spanish speakers looking for income opportunities made me so overwhelmed with joy and pride to be part of this new journey,” said Gaitan. “They all did such a tremendous job, and we wouldn’t have been able to do this without Clara’s help.” Recently, Patt her husband, and their cat “Musko” relocated their RV to Bend, Ore. While her husband has gotten a fulltime job as a lighting technician for a theatre company, Patt works as a freelance graphic designer and can be contacted for project work through her website, ClaraPatt.com. The Denver VOICE team extends its heartfelt appreciation to Clara Patt for her stellar work overseeing this project, as well as Rickly Llamas, Sam Llamas, Sofia E Lizarraga, Leonal Hernandez, and Sergio Nunez, who provided the voiceovers. ■ NEW ITEMS NEEDED: Socks Toiletries (individual or travel-size) Toothpaste, deodorant Chapstick, sunscreen Hand warmers GENTLY-USED ITEMS NEEDED: Men’s shoes or boots (sizes 8-12) Men’s jackets (sizes L, XL, XXL) Women’s jackets (sizes M, L, XL) Backpacks, carrier bags USB-C charging cables VENMO YOUR VENDOR: If you would like to help out a specific vendor by donating a few extra dollars, scan the QR code below to make a payment through Venmo. Please be sure to write your vendor’s name in the comments. Thank you! @DenverVOICE
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