COVID-19 Updates For Volunteers

We want to make sure you and other volunteers, our staff, and our clients stay healthy, so we’re closely monitoring developments related to coronavirus in Colorado. We are also taking action to minimize the risk to the vulnerable Coloradans we serve. We will continue to update this page as changes are made to either or policies or our operations.

Travel, including mountain travel

If you have traveled to an area identified at Alert Level 2 or Warning Level 3 by the Centers for Disease Control or you are closely associated with anyone who has traveled in these areas, we ask you not to volunteer for a period of 14 days following your/their return. Additionally, if you have visited Eagle, Summit, Pitkin, or Gunnison counties in the past week, please do not volunteer or visit our offices.

Feeling sick? Close contact with someone who is sick?

To protect our clients, who often have weakened immune systems, we are requiring anyone not feeling 100 percent to avoid working or volunteering at Project Angel Heart. Please be extra vigilant and thoughtful about your health, and stay home if you have a fever of over 100°F and any symptoms of respiratory illness (e.g. cough, sneezing, shortness of breath). Additionally, if have had close contact with someone who has or may have contracted COVID-19, please do not come in. Call or use our online volunteer absence form to let us know that you are not able to volunteer.

Offices closed to visitors

We are closing our Denver and Colorado Springs offices to any visitors, effective Monday, March 16. Volunteers are still welcome (and much needed) and will be following strict screening guidelines. We will no longer accept decorated meal bags until further notice.

Procedures for meal delivery drivers

If you are a meal delivery driver, please adhere to updated delivery procedures. These specific guidelines include, among other things, limiting your interactions with clients and setting meal bags down outside the door (in most instances) instead of handing the bag to the client. More details will be provided along with your route sheets.

Meal bag decorators

We need to put this program on hold for now. We will resume bag decorating once the COVID-19 public health crisis has passed.

Self-care

We already emphasize these in our day-to-day work at Project Angel Heart, but please take some simple precautions that may help you and those around you to avoid getting sick. These are the same precautions we all take to avoid catching the flu or the common cold, but now is a great time to recommit to these simple practices:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (about the amount of time it takes to hum the happy birthday song from beginning to end, TWICE), especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. (Please note that hand washing is still more effective than hand sanitizer!)
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces at home and work using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Scheduled meal deliveries and need for additional volunteers

For now, meal deliveries will continue at regularly scheduled times. We do have a real need for backup drivers and kitchen volunteers. If you are able to pick up an extra shift or two or serve as a backup, please sign up here. We’ve had many offers of support from new volunteers (hooray!) and are working on getting through that list now. We will let you know when the need arises for additional new volunteers.

We’re committed to helping minimize additional health risks for our clients…and for our volunteers, as well! Thanks for doing your part to ensure that we can continue getting meals out safely to the people who depend on them.