DIRECTOR’S NOTE AS I REFLECT ON MY FIRST FEW MONTHS here at Denver VOICE, I can’t help but feel fortunate that the vendors, board members, staff, and all our supporters, who put so much energy into this organization, have embraced me and shown nothing but support and love for the work we do. While the program has impacted JAMES KAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR so many lives for much longer than I’ve been affiliated with the VOICE, it was not long after I started that our team began highlighting additional vendor needs we could meet. Through feedback from the vendors, we realized that our safe space on Santa Fe was a lot more to people than a place to pick up papers. Based on conversations with several Denver VOICE vendors, who are also visual artists, Connie Gaitan, our program coordinator, and I began purchasing supplies and then set aside space in our office for vendors to work on their art. Our location in the Santa Fe Art District gave us an opportunity to give these vendor artists a way to showcase their art and receive additional income for their work. Our very own Lando Allen’s efforts helped inspire what we hope will become a successful art program. Earlier this year, Lando got his sales license, and with the assistance of our volunteer Daniel Chavez, who is a web designer, Lando now has a website for his art. In the two months since Lando’s website was launched, several art collectors have purchased his work, and others have commissioned additional pieces from him. The result of our effort and the vendors’ engagement with the art program has already proven to be powerful, and we believe this opportunity is worth pursuing even further - which is why we are asking the community to help. On the back cover of this issue, you will find information about our Summer of Color Campaign, and we are asking for your help with creating a more extensive program for our Denver VOICE vendors. Your donations will go a long way in helping us establish this program. If you are interested in learning more or providing a donation match, please email me at james@denvervoice.org. Thank you all for your amazing support of our program and our mission! View Lando Allen’s artwork at lando-paints.square.site/. ■ DENVERVOICE.ORG CE.ORG @deeOCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR James Kay MANAGING EDITOR Elisabeth Monaghan PROGRAM COORDINATOR Connie Gaitan GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hannah Bragg VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Aaron Sullivan Laura Wing ARTISTS/PHOTOGRAPHERS Gigi Galen WRITERS John Alexander Lando Allen Raelene Johnson Jason Martin Jerry Rosen Larmarques Smith WHAT WE DO The Denver VOICE empowers homeless, impoverished, and transient individuals by creating job opportunities through our vendor program. We give our vendors a job and help them tell their stories; this creates a space for them to be part of a community again. Vendors purchase copies of the VOICE for 50 cents each at our distribution center. This money pays for a portion of our production costs. Vendors can buy as many papers as they want; they then sell those papers to the public for a suggested $2 donation. The difference in cost ($1.50) is theirs to keep. WHO WE ARE The Denver VOICE is a nonprofit that publishes a monthly street newspaper. Our vendors are men and women in the Denver metro area experiencing homelessness and poverty. Since 2007, we have put more than 4,600 vendors to work. Our mission is to facilitate a dialogue addressing the roots of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer economic, educational, and empowerment opportunities for the impoverished community. We are an award-winning publication, a member of the International Network of Street Papers and the Colorado Press Association, and we abide by the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nikki Lawson, President Chris Boulanger, Vice President Jeff Cuneo, Treasurer Zephyr Wilkins, Secretary Albert Bland Donovan Cordova Antonio Diaz Raelene Johnson Jennifer Seybold Julia Watson Cabal Yarne EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT editor@denvervoice.org VENDOR PROGRAM program@denvervoice.org • (720) 320-2155 ADVERTISING ads@denvervoice.org MAILING ADDRESS PO Box 1931, Denver CO 80201 VENDOR OFFICE 989 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204 With the money they make selling the VOICE, vendors are able to pay for their basic needs. Our program provides vendors with an immediate income and a support group of dedicated staff members and volunteers. Vendors are independent contractors who receive no base pay. OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Orientation is held every day we are open, but prospective vendors must arrive by 10:00 a.m. 2 DENVER VOICE June 2023 STAFF CONTRIBUTORS BOARD CONTACT US
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