This month, we’re taking a closer look at our warehouses and the volunteers inside them. We have a new warehouse to celebrate in Pueblo, some changes happening at our longtime Cortez location and a wonderful Englewood volunteer to introduce you to.
Most people see our work when pet food is distributed to a family at one of our pantries. But there is a lot that has to happen before the food is ready to go.
Our warehouses are where donations are unloaded and sorted, orders are prepared for more than 100 pantries across the state, and volunteers help with all the organizing and everyday jobs that keep everything running. At our Englewood warehouse, food and supplies are also managed for more than 100 rescues and shelters through our Animal Welfare Share Program.
A New Space and a Permanent Home in Pueblo
Colorado Pet Pantry has officially opened a new warehouse in Pueblo! This has been years in the making and will make a big difference in how we serve Southeast Colorado.
For years, Senior Program Manager Manny and his dedicated volunteers worked from a growing collection of cramped storage containers. The new warehouse adds much-needed room to organize food and supplies, prepare pantry orders and move them throughout the region more efficiently.
Keeping more pet food in the region will also help us continue to reach remote communities where pet food and other resources can be difficult to access.
“Our Pueblo warehouse will allow us to maintain our inventory and reach in remote areas,” Manny said. “It will also allow us to move food and supplies faster than ever before.”
Along with our new Southeast Colorado box truck, the warehouse gives the team a stronger home base for serving pets and families throughout the region. We are so excited about what this new space will make possible!
We are grateful to the Ventimiglia Family Foundation for helping make the warehouse possible. Volunteers Anita, Ayesha, Becky and Susie also helped clean and organize the space and get everything ready to move in. Thank you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone!
The Cortez Warehouse
Pueblo is our newest warehouse, but it isn’t our first location outside of Englewood. Our Cortez warehouse was Colorado Pet Pantry’s second warehouse and continues to support our work in Southwest Colorado.
Laura, our Southwest Colorado Program Manager, works with lead volunteer, Brad, and longtime volunteers Dina, Elaine and Suzie to keep food moving through the warehouse and heading to local pantries. Dina, Elaine and Suzie have stepped up when it comes to pallet moving and van loading over the years.
Dina and Suzie have volunteered at the Cortez warehouse for five years, helping with much of the pallet moving and van loading needed to keep food headed to local pantries. We are incredibly grateful for their commitment and everything they have done for Colorado Pet Pantry and the pets and families we serve in Southwest Colorado. Thank you, Dina and Suzie!
Meet Patty: The Englewood Warehouse’s “All-Around Handywoman”
All of the space in our warehouses would not work without the people who show up and put it to use. At our Englewood warehouse, Patty has been keeping things organized and taking on whatever needs to be done for about eight years.
She first volunteered with Colorado Pet Pantry through Karma Multisport, a women’s triathlon club that came to the warehouse for a group project. Patty was still working full time as an Emergency Medicine Physician and initially helped when her schedule allowed. As she found more free time, she kept coming back because she knew her hours were needed and appreciated.
These days, Patty volunteers several times a week. After proving herself to be reliable and showing an interest in organizing the prescription food, she jokes that she was “awarded” responsibility for all of it.
She now manages the prescription food from the time it arrives through sorting, organizing and stocking. She keeps it ready for our Share Program partners and helps fill special requests from pantry clients when they come in.
Prescription food is only part of what Patty does. As the warehouse’s self-described “all-around handywoman,” she is forklift certified and steps in wherever help is needed. She has built wooden signs to label the warehouse racks and even constructed a cabinet large enough to hold 20 bins of collars, leashes and harnesses.
The work matters to Patty, but so do the relationships she has formed along the way.
“Meeting and getting to know other volunteers, especially those who become regulars, is hugely rewarding to me,” she said. “Even though we work hard, we also laugh.”
Patty has even gotten her sister involved, both at the Englewood warehouse when she visits and with Colorado Pet Pantry on the Western Slope.
Thank you, Patty, for everything you do and for always finding another way to help. We are so lucky to have you!
Volunteer at One of Our Warehouses
Interested in seeing what happens behind the scenes? We would love to have you join us!
Our Englewood warehouse has volunteer opportunities Monday through Friday from 10AM-1PM, as well as every other Sunday from 10AM-1PM.
View Englewood warehouse opportunities
Our Pueblo warehouse also welcomes volunteers every other Sunday from 10AM-1PM.
View Pueblo warehouse opportunities
Volunteer opportunities at our Cortez warehouse are less regular and usually require only a few people, so they are not posted in Duplie. If you live in the area and would like to be contacted when help is needed, email us at volunteer@coloradopetpantry.org and we’ll add you to the list.
