‘Snow Buddies’ help older adults, those with disabilities with free snow removal

March is historically the snowiest month in Colorado and it’s often closely followed by April in terms of snowfall averages.

For those who own homes, especially those in HOA-controlled neighborhoods, it means some pretty strict deadlines to get the snow that’s accumulated, shoveled and off the driveway, sidewalks and the surrounding areas for the safety of themselves and others. It’s a process that is often extra challenging for older adults and those with disabilities who are unable to shovel snow. 

As part of “Aging Matters,” our ongoing series on Colorado Matters about our state’s ever-exploding 65 and up population, Brady Porterfield-Finn, neighborhood engagement coordinator for the City of Arvada, joined host Chandra Thomas Whitfield to talk about its Snow Buddies program, and others like it across the state, that recruits volunteers to help older adults and others in need with snow removal at no charge. And now is the time to sign up for service, or to volunteer, while the weather’s nice!

Courtesy City of Arvada

“Our program has been running for more than 20 years, and this is a program that really has connected well with our residents and as we see in Arvada across the state and across the country, our 65 plus population just continues to grow and knowing that a lot of them are aging in place where they are,” said Porterfield-Finn. “This is a program that encourages people to put their own health and safety first by allowing a volunteer to serve them.”

He says the program has a positive impact not just on those who sign up to get help, but also on the volunteers who help them.

“The volunteers have a lot of continuity with their residents. Some of them have worked together for more than five years and they become family. One of our volunteers named George is a retired geologist who used to work for the U.S. Geology Survey, and he loves getting to work with his clients as he calls them,” said Porterfield-Finn. “So he's got seven neighbors that he shovels for and they look forward to seeing him. A lot of them are widows and this is the most socializing that they get. So really filling a gap in more ways than one with social isolation and loneliness, and this is one of the ways that we're working in Arvada to address that.

“This is a service that's connecting those neighbors door to door, street by street, helping them to get where they need to go safely.”

Here is a list of some of the free snow removal programs available and seeking volunteers across Colorado.

Arvada

 Snow Buddies program by the city of Arvada

Aurora 

Snow Busters program by the city of Aurora.

Boulder 

Snow Busters program by Cultivate

Centennial

Volunteer Connections program by Arapahoe County

Colorado Springs 

SnowMatch program by A Little Help

Commerce City 

Snow Guardians program by Commerce City 

Denver

Denver Snow Angels program by the city of Denver

Englewood 

Snow Buddies program by the city of Englewood

Fort Collins

Adopt-A-Neighbor program by the city of Fort Collins

Golden

Winter Road Maintenance Priorities by the city of Golden

Lakewood

Snow and Ice Control plan by city of Lakewood

Littleton 

Winter help program by Arapahoe County

Longmont

Snow Busters program by Cultivate

Pueblo

Chore Services by the county of Pueblo

Red Rocks

Denver Snow Angels program by the city of Denver

Thornton 

Snowbusters program by the city of Thornton

Westminster 

Assistance program by the Denver Regional Council of Governments

Wheat Ridge  

Snow Buddies program by Volunteers of America

Are we missing a program? Email Chandra Thomas Whitfield at [email protected] and we'll add it to the list.