COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado Springs Parks has to deal with a more than $3 million cut to its budget this year. It is part of the larger $31 million budget shortfall for the city. For the parks department, volunteers are an important counter to the issue.
At the mouth of Cheyenne Cañon, at the front desk inside the Starsmore Discovery Center, Betty McCord welcomes visitors. The 96-year-old woman, who has hiked all of Colorado's fourteeners, gives advice on the best trails in the park.
"We're helping people who come by, you know, especially who have not been here before," said McCord.
McCord has been volunteering for 17 years. She started just before she turned 80.
"I think it's a beautiful area and I live not that far from here. It just fit when I quit working," said McCord.
North Cheyenne Cañon has three dedicated full-time staff members. It is a small number for a park seeing hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, making volunteers essential to filling a major void.
"We have far more volunteers than we do staff we have, couldn't make it at all without volunteers, so at least 35 adults and then up at Helen Hunt Falls we have about 14 to 20 teenagers," said Cathy Railton, North Cheyenne Cañon operations administrator.
Cheyenne Cañon and other Colorado Springs parks also get support from friends groups, non-profits, and groups that step in for targeted volunteer days.
"They can really get their hands involved in what actually goes on in the parks and what's the behind the scenes on how to take care of our parks and what goes into that," said Madison Peddy, Colorado Springs Parks, Senior Park Ranger.
"It is a wonderful community, you know, people from all over the neighborhood are helping us and even driving in," said Railton.
While volunteer hours do not fully make up for budget woes, they do make a difference. McCord does not think about the dollars; she is more focused on the beauty of the park and connecting with the community.
"It is a good interaction with both the local people and mostly visitors," said McCord.
In a world where there seems to be more and more critics, perhaps there is a catchphrase that can be suggested: "Be a Betty," do what you can, where you can, when you can.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
___
'It's like this every day,' Peterson SFB employee says traffic out of base could be safety hazard
It's an area with a lot of construction. That work has Peterson Road just outside the north gate of Peterson Space Force Base down to two lanes.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
