SOUTHEAST SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — From access to food and childcare to English classes and job training, the Family Success Center in southeast Colorado Springs is helping families find the resources they need to build a more stable future.
The center, operated by Pikes Peak United Way, brings together community services under one roof, making it easier for families to access support while working toward long-term stability.
For Cami Bremer, president and CEO of Pikes Peak United Way, the center represents the organization's mission in action.
"The Family Success Center is Pikes Peak United Way's mission in action," Bremer said. "What you see here is the ability to serve residents, fill their needs, meet the gaps, and have it in a way that creates not only community, but stability, and a path towards stability."
Since opening in 2022, the center has continued to see families and individuals turn to its services. Last year, it served approximately 72,000 people.
Those services include the Sunny Side Market, where families can access food, as well as licensed child care, adult education, English as a Second Language classes, GED preparation, resume assistance, financial literacy and housing navigation.
Bremer said the center was created after looking at the barriers families in the surrounding community faced and finding ways to make resources more accessible.
The goal is not simply to provide immediate assistance but to help families find opportunities to move forward.
"At the end of the day, each of those 72,000 people that walk through here. That is a life. It is a family," Bremer said.
That work is part of a larger statewide effort through Colorado Gives Day, an annual fundraising movement organized by Colorado Gives Foundation.
Kelly Dunkin, president and CEO of Colorado Gives Foundation, said the event began in 2010 after a study suggested Coloradans were among the least generous states in the nation on a per-capita basis.
The foundation's board wanted to give residents an opportunity to demonstrate their generosity.
"We set a goal of $1 million and apparently by the end of the day, it was $8 million that had been raised for the participating nonprofits," Dunkin said.
Since then, the event has grown into a statewide movement supporting nearly 5,000 participating nonprofits.
In 2025, Coloradans donated $56.6 million to support their favorite organizations, according to Dunkin.
"I think when I think about the donations, I try to translate into the impact that it's having in the communities," Dunkin said.
She said donations help support a wide range of services, including food assistance, after-school tutoring, health care and other programs that benefit communities across Colorado.
For organizations like Pikes Peak United Way, those contributions help keep services available for families who need them.
Bremer said last year's Colorado Gives Day campaign brought in $22,000 in individual donations for Pikes Peak United Way, along with a $50,000 matching contribution. This year, the organization has set an individual contribution goal of $50,000.
"Every dollar that a donor is willing to give, every hour that a donor is willing to work in the center for us as a volunteer. That goes so far to put another family's life on a completely different trajectory," Bremer said.
Dunkin said people do not need to make a large contribution to have an impact. Donations can start at $5, and every amount helps support participating nonprofits.
"Giving at any amount matters, and it matters to the nonprofits and it matters to the communities that they're serving," Dunkin said.
Colorado Gives Day donations can be made through Dec. 8 at ColoradoGives.org. Donations made through the platform can also be made throughout the year.
